Like Pieces Of A Puzzle
by debzzz
Summary: Four boys. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. They met in school and became best friends. They called themselves The Marauders. This is their story. Slash, Sirius/Remus, James/Lily
1. Blacks and slaps

**Summary: **This is a story about friendship, love, courage during dark times, hate, misunderstandings and fighting personal demons. Featuring the four Marauders and Lily Evans. It won't be too fluffy nor too dark or depressing.

**A/N:** Hello, thank you for getting into the trouble to read this! This is my very first fic and since I don't know what you people think of my writing, please review or else there will be no point for me to update :p (well, actually I _will_ update, but reviews make me happy  )

Ok, now about the story…I know it's not something new-the marauders' life in Hogwarts-but I do believe that it might be worth reading (well I'm the author what did you expect? To tell you not to read it?!).

It will probably (that is 99.9) be **slash** (SBRL!!) so if you don't like it, don't read it! I'm rating this M but I'm not sure…if you think it should be more of a T let me know. Oh! and you should know that my mother tongue isn't English so don't be harsh!

Enjoy…

**Disclaimer:** I obviously do not own Harry Potter, but hey, Christmas isn't too far so if anyone's wondering what to get me for a present…

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1. BLACKS AND SLAPS

He was sitting on his bed, heavy curtains closed around his four-poster bed. He hadn't slept at all-not that he hadn't tried. It's just that all this was too much for him. Today had been the most exciting and overwhelming day of his entire life and, although he felt tired, he couldn't sleep. Everything that had happened the last forty-eight hours had changed his life forever.

Sirius got up slowly and went to the window of the dormitory. It had been a full moon and starless night, but now you could see the first hesitant rays of the sun.

_Yeah…it surely has been a full day_, he thought to himself while taking a seat on the empty bed right next to the window. For one thing, he had gotten away from his home and his family. He had longed for this day since he was six and now that he was finally away, he couldn't believe how free he felt…like a big burden had gotten off of him. Hogwarts had always been for him something like a land of freedom; a chance to be away form the loony bin excuse for home he lived in. And he had never wanted to leave this place more than he had wanted it last night._ Last night…_ he thought and scowled deeply at the mere thought of what had happened.

He had already put all of his stuff in his trunk (well, most likely he had thrown them in there rather messily, but that's beyond the point) and was ready to check for the last time if he had gotten everything, when Regulus entered his room.

"Hey Sirius," he said hesitantly "you ready?"

"Yeah, everything's packed and finally I'm ready for school-although I don't know if the school's ready for me…" he replied with a smirk.

"…right." came Regulus' quite answer.

They stayed like that, facing each other in silence for a couple of minutes and suddenly that was too much for Sirius and started feeling uncomfortable.

He didn't know what to say to his brother. It's not that they didn't get along or that they didn't like each other…it's just that lately he felt uneasy with him, because he had started to act weird. Never really voicing his own thoughts and doing always what he was told to do. Now, someone might think this is normal, but Reg would sometimes listen strictly to his mother and other times he would do something to upset her along with Sirius. And the weird thing was he would always, _always_ get away with it, whereas Sirius would be the only one to be blamed and of course pay.

As little children they had gotten on well. Always playing together, reading books they weren't supposed to read together, going for a short flight with toy broomsticks together… But that had somehow changed when he turned nine. They stopped depending on each other so much and they were rarely spending time together.

Oddly enough this had happened shortly after Sirius' first big row with his mother. Not that they hadn't fought ever before…God only knows they had. But that one time, shortly after turning nine, had been different.

There was a family-gathering event held during Christmas in their house. He was bored to death and decided to have some fun. So, he had been teasing at first and then saying nasty things to his cousin Bella, who was in her last year in Hogwarts, about her boyfriend Rodolphus (yeah, that git with the pitch black eyes and white face with this awful look on his face, as if he was a vampire or something…_now that I think about it_…). Anyway, the bitch (Bella that is), having turned 17 already was able to curse him and hex him as much as she pleased-and so she did. When his mother had found them he had been shouting things no nine-year-old boy should be allowed to pronounce. She had looked at him coldly and simply said,

"You'd better shut your mouth and start taking an example from your cousin. We expect nothing less from you than to, at least, live up to half of what she is."

Of course, with _we_ she had been referring to the whole noble family of Black. And that's when he exploded. He started shouting at his mother with all his might and with such malice in his voice, that everyone who had been in the house that day started gathering around them. He was shouting with ferocity and anger-_no_ rage and he didn't notice that he was spitting. On his mother's face. On his very angry mother's face. On his very angry and now pale mother's face. When he was done cursing his family's ridiculous expectations, she had calmly taken out her wand and with a quick flick had bound his body with invisible ropes and then, with an other flick she had left his limbs with deep, painful, bleeding cuts.

"No one's to help him out of his bonds nor tend to his wounds." She had stated turning around to face the rest of the family. "Not until he apologies." Which he didn't.

A few hours later, Andromeda, his other cousin, had come to take care of his wounds with a look of sympathy on her face. Sirius had thanked her and promised not to tell that it was she, who had looked after him. The next day his father had come and taken off his bonds.

"Do not push our patience or our limits." he had told him with a cold voice.

Although Reg never admitted it, Sirius guessed it was him who had talked their parents into letting him free. But from that day on Reg started avoiding him…

"Did you want something else?" Sirius said finally to his brother, not able to stand the silence.

"…er…" tried pathetically Regulus, and looking as if he was debating with himself over something "I, well…um I wanted to say, um… that…Mother wants to talk to you." he finally said with a sigh.

"Oh, okay. I'll be downstairs in a couple of minutes" and with that Reg nodded and left.

XxXxXxX

Walburga Black was sitting in an armchair holding a cup of tea with her right hand and a matching saucer with her left hand. She was scowling a bit and looked like something had been bothering her slightly.

_Wow_, Sirius thought._ Mother's in a good mood. I might actually get out of this without a fight!_ Little did he know…

"Sit down." She said flatly to her son. "I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, Reg told me" he said half mockingly "otherwise I don't think I would be here. I've got things to pack and-"

"I thought I said that it would be _me_ doing the talking." she said (almost spat) somewhat irritated. "And call your brother with his given name." she added as an afterthought.

"Right. Go on; I'm all ears and no mouth"

"Don't try to be smart with me boy." she said angrily and Sirius glared at her. By that time, he had started reconsidering his mother's mood.

"Tomorrow you're leaving for Hogwarts-" _Really? _he said sarcastically to himself,_ and I was wondering who had put all my stuff in a trunk and why on earth they had done such a thing!_ "-and first of all you should know that your father will be taking you to the station before meeting Abraxas Malfoy for business."

_Well what did I actually expect? That Walburga oh-so-pure-blooded-that-cannot-be-in-the-same-place-with-someone-who's-not-as-filthy-rich-as-me-and-has-something-to-do-with-muggles Black would escort her own son to the bloody station? Actually this is better, _he reasoned,_ coz I'll have the chance to find someone to talk to that _I_ like. And father-well he must've protested a lot before accepting to drop me off to King's bloody Cross before meeting with the Father of all bastards Abraxas Malfoy. Father,_ he smirked to himself,_ of all bastards, because his son, Lucius is _The_ bastard. Before meeting him Cissa was actually tolerable!_

"Anyway," his mother continued not noticing that her son wasn't paying much attention, "what I really wanted to talk to you about, is Hogwarts and your behavior there."

This captured Sirius' attention and asked her what exactly she had meant.

"Well, as you're very well aware of, our family is one of the oldest and most respected pure blood families and has a reputation to keep." she said as she placed the cup and the saucer on the table. Sirius had a vague idea where this was going and he certainly didn't like it at all.

"Our family," went on Walburga, now standing up next to her armchair, "is not going to have to tolerate your…rebel spirit." she added that by glaring intensely at her son, who had started shifting in his seat. "You'd better watch out whom you're being friends with, what teachers think of you, of course we expect you to bring nothing less than perfect grades-but you never know- and how you treat those who are not worth a Black's attention. Now, of course it's ridiculous to even mention it, but your father insisted, but there's no way you're letting yourself end up anywhere else than-"

"_WHAT_?" Sirius shouted (he tried not to, he really tried hard, but apparently it wasn't hard enough) "Are you aware of the things coming out of your mouth, mother?" he looked at her in utter disbelief. "You can't possibly just think that you're going to order me how to live my own life, whom I'll be friends with, whom I'll be talking to and finally which bloody house I'll be sorted to. I may as well don't want to be in Slytherin!" Because that's what all this was about-her fear of him ending up in a place where he wouldn't be with pure bloods or anyone addicted enough to the Dark Arts!

"Listen to me Sirius Orion Black and you listen well," she hissed through gritted teeth as her son rose to his feet, "you're going to do as told and dare end up anywhere with mudbloods or halfbreeds and you'll have to deal with the consequences." By that time she was boiling with anger and if you looked carefully enough, you might have noticed smoke coming from her eyes.

"I'll do what I want and I don't care what yo-" he was abruptly silenced by his mother's palm connecting hard with his right cheek.

His jaw dropped rather comically and starred at her in awe…Slowly he brought up a palm and touched his cheek. She had actually slapped him. Walburga Black had bothered enough to raise her own hand and slap her son. This was the first physical touch they had since he was five…His mother was dead serious about this and he would be a dead Sirius if he dared protesting (if the moment hadn't been so intense and he hadn't been scared of his mother he would smirk to the pun.).

He managed to mutter something that could've been _okay_, turned on his heels and walked to his room as fast as he could, without running.

He had never been this angry in his life and certainly not that scared of her! He didn't know what to do or how to express himself, he was in some short of a shock. He fell asleep rather uncomfortably, while sitting on the edge of his bed, one hand on his slightly red cheek and eyes starring on the opposite wall.

XxXxXxX

That was what had caused the bad mood in Grimmauld place the day the first-born son of the Most Ancient and Noble Family of Black had left for school.

His father had left him in front of the train and had calmly said to him,

"Behave yourself! You've been warned." And with that he had left for his _important business_ with Malfoy.

But Sirius didn't care because then, the most wonderful and unbelievable thing happened: he, for the very first time in his life, made friend! Yeah, a real friend…one of those _you_ choose and he had found him funny and interesting and a prank-lover! Yes Sirius Black had met the one and only _James Potter_!!

XxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N: **This is it for now! Coming next: when Sirius met James and what happened. Please review and tell me if it is worth updating…I really hope that you liked it!


	2. First meetings and impressions

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter! I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** You can find it in the first chapter…

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2. FIRST MEETINGS AND IMPRESSIONS

Sirius had been standing right there on the platform, looking around, not really noticing that his father had already departed. He was starring at the magnificent train right in front of him and barely noticing all the noises around him. But then he was suddenly brought back in reality by a mess of dark untidy hair and black robes sprawled on the ground in front of him; someone had tripped over his trunk.

"Oh bugger!" the boy had said while trying to get up. Sirius helped him to his feet and asked him if he was all right. The boy started then touching franticly his hair, his chest, his face, his thighs and lastly making sure his glasses were in place. Then he asked Sirius thoughtfully:

"Ask me something!"

"What?"

"Ask me something, anything."

"Er…how many players does a Quidditch team have?"

"Seven!" and then the boy added with relief "yeah I guess I'm alright."

"You sure? No permanent damages?" asked Sirius with a smirk.

"Yeah, as good-looking and brilliant as ever." responded the other boy matter-of-factly.

"Oh!…I see…the damage has already been done."

"Quick answer! I like you!" smiled the other boy and extended his hand and immediately said "I'm James. You want me to help you with this trunk?"

"Sirius" Sirius said grabbing James' hand and smiling back. "I do believe I'm capable of lifting this trunk by myself, but if you insist…"

"I do! Just hold a second to say goodbye to my parents. If I don't come back in 2 minutes please come to rescue me from my mum's arms!" he said with a melodramatic tone and then left to do his task as the good son he was.

They had found a compartment at the back of the train where a girl was sitting beside the window. They only got sight of her red hair, as her face was not visible from where they stood, so they didn't pay much attention to her. As they sat down James arched an eyebrow and said to Sirius

"So…'Sirius' _what_?"

"Huh?" asked Sirius confused.

"I don't think you just sprout out of nowhere…you must have parents and they must have a last name, so basically I'm asking what your last name is." explained James with the same soft tone he would use to explain to a five year-old why two Galleons are better than one.

"Who says I didn't sprout? How do you know that my blood isn't green and inside my shoes I have roots instead of feet?"

At this James left a loud chuckle and then gave Sirius a challenging look "Prove that your blood is green then!"

"Black" said simply Sirius, who had no doubt that James was being serious with the proving thing.

"What? Your blood is actually black?"

Now, the puns with his first name had always been funny but hearing someone else doing it unintentionally with his last name was something new to him.

"No. My name is Sirius Black actually."

"Oh boy…we're going to have _so_ much fun with the puns!" And with that both boys had burst in laughs.

For the next hour they had talked about Quidditch, favorite foods, Quidditch, what they had ever heard about the teachers, Quidditch and laughed with stories about pranks they had pulled on unsuspecting cousins. James really looked (more likely _sounded_) like a Quidditch-obsessed guy, but that was hardly a problem, since Sirius only got to talk about Quidditch with his brother who didn't know much about it anyway, seeing he was two years younger than him.

Later they had also the pleasure to actually meet the red haired girl, whose name was Lily (to be honest, she was quite cute) and a greasy, big nosed, ugly git named Ser…no, Sevo…no, Serv…well Snivellus (a possible first target on some very well planned pranks, they had thought).

XxXxXxX

The rest of the trip was uneventful. No one had bothered them and they had bought half the goodies the lovely lady with the push-cart had. They had tried to do magic with their wands and what Sirius only managed to do was to crack James' glasses. Now, the bespectacled boy could vaguely see from his left eye since the glass was almost white and relied purely on his right eye and on Sirius to make sure he wouldn't end up in a swamp or something when they would get off the train.

When they arrived at Hogwarts the sun had already set and the dark sky was painted with silver clouds. It looked as if it was going to rain, so the first years hurried to the direction a gigantic man was indicating to. They had the most amazing trip towards the castle on small boats. The water was clear and peaceful and Sirius found it funny to touch the water with his fingers ever-so-gently, but the warning about a giant squid in the lake made him pull his hand back instantly.

They entered the castle, looking around in awe, as a woman in late forties-early fifties welcomed them and introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. With a flick of her wand she repaired James' glasses and then she showed them the way to the Great Hall where the Sorting would take place.

_The Sorting_…It had been the third best event in Sirius' life that day (the other two being leaving his home and meeting James).

The sorting had been a moment Sirius had practically dreaded. He had heard many things about Hogwarts' Houses, but considering the source (his cousin Bella) he hardly believed any of it. He knew he didn't want to be in Slytherin, because he was aware of the kind of people that were sorted in that particular House (people like his family). Anything else was welcomed, well, maybe Hufflepuff was not the best of the remaining choices, but really anything was better than Slytherin. The thing is, he was also aware of his mother's threat. It was either being happy and disowned (if not murdered) or miserable and respected from his family. He didn't truly and entirely believe that his parents would ever fully appreciate or respect him, but still…almost anything was better than the probability of death. The key word here being _almost_.

He could feel eyes coming from the Slytherin table starring, more closely than others, at him, as he sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head.

_Aha…_said a voice in his head,_ another Black is accepted in Hogwarts. I can see that you're clever, maybe not the studying kind of clever, but smart nonetheless. This, however, means that you wouldn't fit in Ravenclaw. But, why should I go through this and not just put you with the rest of your family in Slytherin…?_ Wondered the hat.

_I'm afraid I might disappoint you but I'm not like the rest of my family…_thought Sirius, although he still had his doubts.

_Not like the rest of them, indeed._ Said the hat._ There's nothing left but-_

_Gryffindor, _pleaded Sirius and _GRYFFINDOR_ was what the hat shouted at the same time with Sirius' thought.

"Hell, that is unbelievable!" shouted Sirius excited as the Professor took the hat off of him. That earned him a glare from her and the words "Do not swear like that again, Mr. Black, now please go sit down!"

Everyone in the Hall laughed except from the Slytherin table, who had gaped at the unexpecting outcome of the Sorting: never, _never_ had a Black been sorted to any other house than Slytherin before!

After him, that Lily girl had also been sorted in Gryffindor along with six other students: four girls, a short blond boy and of course James.

James had been the last to be sorted in Gryffindor and the Hat had barely touched the top of his head before shouting the name of the House. He had then walked towards Sirius with a big smile on his face and declared proudly as he sat down:

"I _knew_ it!!"

After dinner they had followed a prefect to their common room and dormitories, but before long a cold voice called Sirius' name.

"Are you satisfied with yourself, Sirius? Are you happy by being where you are? I'm sure aunt Walburga won't be." Narcissa Black said with a snarl.

"Oh, hello dear cousin! I didn't notice you sneaking up at me only to announce that you're about to owl my _dear _mother and let her in the latest news…" his voice was ironic and cold and the smile on his face was not reaching his eyes.

Narcissa glared at him before turning on her heels and hurrying to find her boyfriend Lucious.

Throughout this exchange between Sirius and his cousin, James had silently waited, a few meters away, for his friend to come.

XxXxXxX

When they finally reached the common room (a big, cozy room dipped in dark red and gold), James had actually described it (out loud) as "a bloody perfect place to take naps, avoid homework and plan pranks", something that earned him a smack on his head by a prefect who didn't look so happy.

The dormitories were comfortable with vast four-posters. There, the two friends met the small boy that had been sorted also in Gryffindor. He looked really shy and his watery, blue eyes were peering from James' to Sirius' face. His name was Peter and he didn't look very confident while he was talking to them. After a while they had all gone to sleep. All except Sirius.

That's how he ended up on the empty bed next to the window these early hours, thinking about- _hey! Wait a minute…An empty bed? Why have they left this bed here, if no one's going to use it? I wonder…Well I'll ask James when he wakes._ And with that he laid back on the unoccupied bed and closed his eyes, trying to sleep for a couple of hours before breakfast. And as he closed his eyes, someone else was opening theirs with a muffled cry.


	3. Howlers and welcomings

**A/N:** Here we are…chapter 3 is on! I hope the fact that I'm spending some time introducing the characters is not annoying you…I promise I'll be moving on to the next years really soon.

I want to thank my beta reader JuliaKerns5, coz she's doing me such a favor and she's also an amazing author herself!

On with the story and please remember: read and then review!

3. HOWLERS AND WELCOMINGS

She was enveloped in darkness as well as in a bitter iciness. She was terrified and her breath was coming forcedly. Hands started reaching for her then. She tried to push them away, but they kept coming closer and closer. She was running now, dashing for her life. She knew she had the power to fight back, to escape, she could feel it inside her, bursting to release, but there was something holding her back…a voice…_freak_…a distant voice calling…_freak, freak_…

Lily jerked upwards and tried not to scream a desperate _NO!_. She was not a freak! Tears were coming from her eyes. Petunia had just been terribly cantankerous because Lily was leaving home. She couldn't possibly think that her own sister was a freak. No, Severus was right. He had told her that she was special, like him and like other children. She was now in Hogwarts, as he had promised, with other students just like her: gifted, talented, _special_.

She tried to fight back the tears, but the image of her sister wouldn't go away. Lily opened the curtains and realized that it was too early; the sun had just faintly started appearing in the horizon. She thought that if she got back to sleep now she wouldn't wake in time for breakfast, so she got up and made her way to the bathroom. She softly washed her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror while combing her wavy red hair: that would always calm her.

She waited for the other girls to wake up and go to breakfast together. She thought that she should also find Sev and ask him how he had found his first day in Hogwarts. She hopped that he wasn't angry with her for being sorted into Gryffindor…

The first of the girls to wake was a tall and not so thin girl named Mary. She had brown, shoulder length hair and auburn eyes. She was sleeping next to the window on the right side of Lily's bed.

"You're a morning person Lily, right?" the girl asked Lily.

"No, I'm not much of a morning person, honestly. I just woke because of a dream." She replied kindly.

"Oh. Are you ok? Was it a nightmare?" Mary asked concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Go wash yourself so we won't be late for breakfast."

While Mary was in the bathroom, the girl sleeping on the left side of Lily woke up. Her name was Eleyn and was as tall as Lily herself, but she had gray, almost silver, eyes and long black hair. Half of her hair was already neatly tied up with a fluffy ribbon. How she woke up with her hair looking so perfect would remain a mystery to Lily for the years to come.

XxXxXxX

Lily sat down next to Eleyn and sighed. She had been talking to Severus for the past fifteen minutes and to her surprise she found out that he was really disappointed and bitter about the fact that she was in Gryffindor and not the same House as him. She started eating while thinking of ways to comfort him. She must have also been scowling, because Eleyn asked her in a quite, but concerned voce:

"Are you alright Lily? You look troubled. Who was that kid you were talking to?

"His name is Severus. He's a friend of mine. I met him about a year ago and he is the one who told me that I'm a witch. And no, I'm not alright. I think he's angry because I was not sorted in Slytherin with him."

"Well there's nothing you can do about that! I mean you couldn't possibly go to the Sorting Hat and ask it if it could change its decision! And besides, you're muggle born-no offence-but a muggle-born would never be sorted in Slytherin. And last but not least," Mary was eating while speaking and words were coming out with bits of cake, "I like you and it would be a shame if you changed House now; we wouldn't be able to hang out together a lot."

Lily smiled at the girl and said, "I guess you're-" but she was interrupted by a loud "ooh" echoing around her.

"Ha! First day to school and someone has already been sent a Howler!" a girl next to Lily said, laughing.

A few seats down the table, Lily noticed the annoying boys from Hogwarts Express, looking curiously at a red envelop. Hesitantly and lightly scowling, one of them took the envelope and started opening it.

"Howler?" Lily asked. "What's…what's a Howler?"

"It's a letter that it's meant to tell someone off," explained Eleyn.

"What do you mean? I don't get it."

Lily was trying to remember if Sev had ever mentioned something like that, but she couldn't think of anything.

"Just wait and you'll see-no, _hear_ what this is about." said Mary looking curiously towards the boys.

"How am I-"

And for the second time in a few moments, Lily was interrupted. This time by a female voice shouting at the top of her lungs. And the voice was coming from the opened envelope!

_SIRIUS ORION BLACK_, shouted the voice,_ what in the name of the wizarding world do you think you're doing?! Haven't you embarrassed us enough? Haven't you been enough of a disgrace to you family ALREADY?? Being sorted in Gryffindor? In GRYFFINDOR?? Are you trying to make a fool of us? You're nothing, nothing but a complete disappointment. I warned you Sirius! And yet, you dare to defy us and embarrass us like that! You're a SHAME to this family! Don't even think that there will be no consequences!_ Concluded the voice and the letter burst into flames and disappeared.

Lily blinked a few times, blown away from her senses from the shrill shrieking of the icy voice of the woman.

Everyone was now looking at Sirius. Even those who didn't know who he was, who his family was, were aware of it after that.

Some students from the Slytherin table were laughing rather loudly. They obviously knew him and his family personally. They could very well imagine what the matriarch of the Black family was capable of. It had been a shock to them that Sirius was sorted in Gryffindor and were wondering how his family would react.

Students from the other tables were just starring curiously at him and whispering among themselves. Those who knew Sirius' background, were informing those who were ignorant. Thanks to that, in a few seconds everyone knew why this had happened.

Lily was looking curious too, not understanding why someone would make such a big deal over the Sorting. To her, other things seemed to be more important. Eleyn, being a pure blood, started explaining to her what was known for Sirius' family.

After a few moments of shameless starring, Sirius let out a growl and rushed out of the Great Hall. Lily watched as the other black haired boy went after him and shrugged, saying simply "Some people have serious issues…"

XxXxXxX

Everyone was starring at him. He could feel their eyes piercing through his skull. He could hear them murmuring…they didn't even try to hide it-their voices were cutting through the thick tension in the room like knives, their tone like buzzing bees. He had just experienced the worst telling-off from his mother and everyone in the school had heard it and was now talking about it, thus making him feel even more humiliated. He could feel James next to him glaring at anyone who was starring shamelessly (that practically meant that he was glaring at every student in the Hall.)

He got up frustrated, growled at a girl who opened her mouth to ask him something, and left the Hall.

_How dare she?_ he thought, _How dare she treat me like that? Who does she think she is? Who does she think _I_ am? She's evil_, decided then Sirius, _pure evil_. He didn't care about people starring at him, or being the center of attention, but he _hated_ it when people were discussing about him and his family.

Once Sirius was a fair distance away from the Great Hall and could no longer hear the slowly forming idle discussion from the many students, he let out his anger by shouting angrily "Damn you mother!" and kicking the wall. "Shit! That hurt!" he cursed.

"Hey, are you ok mate?" came James' voice from behind him.

"NO! My foot hurts!"

"Yeah…and I wonder why. Listen, don't let those words make you upset; you should be proud that you're in Gryffindor. Your parents may not like it, but they'll come around in time." James offered hopefully.

"No, they won't. You don't know them James, you don't know _her_! She'll make me pay for every minute I spend with _half-bloods, half-breeds and other filth_!" he said in a high voice, a poor imitation of his mother. "But don't worry. I don't regret being sorted in Gryffindor."

"I do worry, you know, but if-"

"That's what you get for being brawny, Black" Snape's voice interrupted James.

"Stuff it, Snivellus. It's not your business." said James.

"You're right, it's not my business. But I guess I'll catch up on the news whether I like it or not with the next Howler."

"You're going to regret this, Snivelly!" said Sirius and desperately wished he knew some good hexes. He made, though, a mental note to go to the Library and see if there were any helpful books on this subject.

"Whatever you say." Said Snape and left as students who were leaving the Great Hall, started filling the corridor.

"Come on, let's go. We have to get our books and find the right class." said James, pulling Sirius' arm.

Their first lesson was double Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. When the class was dismissed, McGonagall asked Sirius to stay behind. James and Peter told him that they would wait for him outside the classroom.

"I would like to talk to you, Mr. Black, about the breakfast incident." said McGonagall with a soft tone.

"You mean the Howler my mother sent me to tell me off for not obeying her orders and managed to embarrass me in front of the school? Is that the incident you're talking about Professor?"

McGonagall sighed and looking over her glasses she said:

"There's no need to sound so bitter, Sirius. You might be angry because your mother has her own views and ideas, but as the Head of your House I must tell you that you should not let such things affect your school life."

"I know Professor, don't worry." he said and then added "thank you."

And with that he left and joined James and Peter and together they all headed for their next lesson: Potions with the Slytherins.

XxXxXxX

Right after the lunch, the three boys went up to their dormitory to take their books for the afternoon lessons. As they were all looking for the books in their trunks, Sirius remembered his curious thoughts about the bed next to his and decided to ask James about it.

"Hey, James did you notice the empty bed next to mine? Do you have any idea why they would keep it if no one's to use it?"

Before James could even think of an answer, there was a knock on the door and a few seconds later a prefect and young boy entered.

"This is the dormitory for the first years. If you have any questions or need anything come to find me, ok?" the prefect said and, when the boy nodded, he left.

The new boy looked at the faces of the other first years, who were all blinking and staring blankly at him, a bit owlishly. Sirius admonished himself for exraying the boy and probably making the newcomer feel rather uncomfortable. Said boy tried a small smile and a nearly whispered _hello_, but it was more likely to be addressing to his feet because he had suddenly turned his eyes to the floor.

"Well, does that answer your question Sirius?" asked James as he got up and marched towards the boy.

"Yeah…I guess it does!" Sirius replied.

James approached the new boy and extended his hand while saying in a confident and quite amused voice: "Hi! I'm James Potter!"

"My name's Remus Lupin." the boy said, looking up and shaking James' hand.

"I'm Sirius Black!" said Sirius, now standing up, in a pompous tone. "You're late! Why are you late? I wouldn't have complained if I could've missed the breakfast too!"

Since Remus didn't know what had happened during breakfast this very morning, all he could assume was that Sirius was either teasing him or accusing him. Not knowing him, he felt rather defensive.

"I was very ill these days and the Headmaster was kind enough to let me miss the first day in order to get better." said Remus, again without looking at them.

The boys had no problem to believe that, because Remus really did look like he had recently gotten through a lot. He had dark circles bellow his amber eyes and looked very tired. His short tawny hair was disheveled and sticking at the base of his neck with sweat.

"I hope you're feeling better now. By the way, I'm Peter Pettigrew!" said Peter smiling.

"Yes, I'm better, thank you. Nice to meet you all…This is my bed, I guess?" he said pointing at the empty bed next to the window.

"Uh-huh, that's the one, right next to-hey there's a trunk here! How come I didn't see it before? Is t yours Remus?" asked Sirius surprised.

"Yes that's my trunk."

"Ok then. Get your books and lets go. You're coming to class, aren't you?" James said while putting his books in his bag.

"I'm feeling much better now, so Yes, I'm coming."

All boys exited the dormitory and headed for their first Charms lesson, Remus looking a bit tired but also relieved that he was so welcomed, Sirius having already forgotten the breakfast incident, James beaming and Peter…well just following.

XxXxXxXxXxX


	4. A wedding and lots of secrets

**A/N:** Here is the forth chapter!! Sorry it took me so long to update…I was really busy with a festival _blah blah blah blah…_I don't think any of this is important!I just hope you like it!!

P.S. Please review after you've read the story!! I know that there are people out there who have read it because you have put me to your Story Alert list(yes, yes, I do get informed that you've put the story on the list...)Please review, it doesn't cost a thing, I promise!

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing but I'm going to London for Christmas…maybe, just maybe J.K.R. will decide to give me a great Christmas present!!

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4. A WEDDING AND LOTS OF SECRETS

Hogwarts, March 1972 

"Are you going somewhere Remus?" asked Sirius the boy next to him, who was packing some things in a small bag at the moment.

"Yes. My aunt is really sick and I'll visit her with my parents. She lives in Ireland and since it's a weekend I'll stay there until Sunday. I may come back on Saturday night as well, I don't know yet." said Remus in one breath, as if he had practiced this line over and over again…_I can't keep lying to them forever_…he thought.

"Oh, really? Which aunt? The same who gave birth to a baby girl on December," asked Sirius narrowing his eyes, "or the one who got married last month?"

"Wha-?"_ Damn you Sirius Black and your stupid memory!_ "Oh, the one who gave birth to a baby…yeah, um…my parents are also worried about the…er…the baby too…"_ you're pathetic,_ Remus told himself._ Couldn't you think of a better excuse at least?_ he chastised himself.

It was so hard, much harder than he had originally thought, to lie to his friends. But, were they really his friends? They knew almost nothing about him, while they would easily talk about themselves and their families (maybe not Sirius that much, but yet everyone knew something on that subject). He was afraid that if he talked to them about his parents or his life before Hogwarts, he might accidentally let out information that could lead to the revelation of his secret. And he didn't want to risk that…not after the 5 wonderful months he had spent with them. They were all so careless and confident, Peter not as much as the other two, but yet, all three of them seemed to enjoy everything, even the detentions they had managed to get! Sometimes he would wonder, what if he told them…what if he gave them a hint and see their reactions…?

But no! He would never risk his place in Hogwarts, not after all the fights his father had fought for him to get here, not after the kindness and the understanding the new Headmaster had shown to him. He wouldn't be able to handle the rejection he was sure he'd see in their eyes, should he tell them about his lycanthropy.

"I won't be here for the weekend either." said Sirius rather gloomily, as Remus closed his bag and James entered the room.

"Really? Where are you going?" inquired Remus surprised.

"Oh! He's going to have some fun to a certain wedding party…" informed him James smiling evilly.

"Shut up James! If you don't, I'll make you come with me…Now, wouldn't _that_ be fabulous?" said Sirius angrily.

"Hey, what's going on? Which wedding are you talking about?" Remus was really curious about how an invitation to a wedding could sound like a threat.

"What? Haven't you heard about it Remus?" said James imitating pure shock. "Bellatrix Black will become this weekend Mrs. Rodolphus Lestrange!"

"Your cousin is getting married? She's Narcissa's sister, right?" said Remus thoughtfully. "Wait…isn't she the one who almost used the cruciatus curse on you during Christmas?"

"Yep! That's the one. The bitch is getting married and I'm supposed to attend both the ceremony and the party afterwards because they're close relatives, and it would be such a shame if some member of the huge family of Black wasn't there!" Sirius sounded really bitter and ironic as he spoke and that made it clear that this was not going to be a fun weekend for him.

Remus knew about Sirius' family. Some things from his father who worked in the Ministry, and some from the information the other boy had let out. Judging by his mood and his story when he had gotten back from Christmas holidays, this was going to be really hard for him.

"Hey why don't you prank your cousin?" suggested hopefully, who else, James. "That way," he continued, "you'll get your revenge for Christmas and-"

"-a nice grave." finished for him Sirius. "I thought you were my friend, James! Do you want me to die before I even finish my first year to Hogwarts?"

"That's not exactly what I had in mind…" said James defensively.

"No way I'm acting out your brilliant ideas. My mother warned me that if I do anything to embarrass Bella or her, she would first take me away from school and then kill me…At least Remus is going to have a better time in…_Ireland_."

_If only Sirius knew…_thought Remus bitterly. It's not that he didn't feel sorry for him, of course he did, but Sirius wouldn't be turning into a werewolf this weekend. His cousin's wedding couldn't be worse than that…unless of course Sirius' mother actually killed him…Then Remus would definitely feel that his weekend had been better!

_My God! When did I become so macabre?_ wondered inwardly Remus in shock.

"I've got to get going guys." said Remus placing his bag on his back. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Sirius, try not to get in trouble…It's not worth it. Your life here is more important than a stupid joke."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. See you on Monday. Have a good time…er…babysitting your cousin…" Sirius said. There was something really strange about all the aunts and uncles Remus mentioned every now and then…He had to find out what.

"Bye, Remus! Take care okay?" said James.

Remus waved at them and left the dormitory. As he closed the door behind him he sighed and then decided that lying to them was really the most difficult thing in the world. In the common room he met Peter who had been in the Infirmary after a very bad explosion of his cauldron.

"Hey Remus. Are you going somewhere?" the blond boy asked him.

"Yes, Peter. Family problems. How are you? Are your hands back to normal?" asked him Remus.

"Yes I'm fine, thank you. I guess I'll see you when you come back. Take care Remus." Said Peter and started climbing the stairs up to their dormitory.

XxXxXxX

Platform 9¾, June 1972 

It was a sunny day and students were descending from the Hogwarts Express, most of them dressed in muggle clothes. It was the end of the term and everybody was going back home for the summer. Some of them were looking happy, having missed their parents and some of them sad, because it would be two months before they saw their friends again.

Sirius certainly belonged to the latter category.

"Come on, mate! Stop sulking…it's getting annoying! I promise I'll write you every day…well not _every_ day, I would run out of subjects that way, but at least 3 times a week." James had been trying to cheer him up for the past hour, and was failing hard.

"It can't be that bad, Sirius…Look, you can pretend that you've got lots of homework and stay all day in your room 'studying'. Besides, we all are going to write to you and it really is only two months." tried Remus too.

"Okay…you can stop treating me like a five-year-old now. You see? I'm smiling." Sirius said and tried to smile, only the problem was that his smile was more likely scarring them, than reassuring them.

"Alright guys, that's it I guess…We'll see each other again on September. Have a nice summer…and write to me, okay?"

"Sure, Pete! Have a nice time!" said James and waved as the other boy headed towards his parents who were waiting for him.

"I had a great time with you guys. I'm glad I met you…I have to go; my dad is waiting for me. We'll talk okay?" said Remus as he, too, spotted his father.

"Yeah, Rem, we'll talk! Have a nice summer." Sirius said, finally smiling. "And give our greetings to all your aunts and uncles, too!" his smile didn't falter a second.

Remus looked at him, a silent question in his eyes…_Do you know more, Sirius, than you let out?_ But he thought again and there's no way Sirius could've understood something. Sure he and James were brilliant but they were not that observant. He was just being his usual, silly self. And it was good that he was smiling again, because it suited him better. So, he just nodded at them and left.

"Sirius, you bastard! I know your whole theory about Remus hiding something, but that was just mean!" James said, once Remus had left.

"I know James and I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like that. I really don't understand though why he doesn't trust us…Promise me something, okay? Next year we'll try and find out what he's not telling us or make him admit it himself."

"Alright, but I'm not spying on him or following him around. That wouldn't be right, he's our friend." James said thoughtfully.

"Whatever you say Jimmy! I just want him to trust us."

"If you want me to help you next year, don't ever dare to call me that again!" James shot angrily.

"Okay, okay _James_! Anyway, that way I'll have something to keep my mind on while I'm home." said Sirius smiling widely.

"I've got to go, my dad's here! I'll write to you soon, I promise…Try and have a nice time though…"

"Don't worry for me James. I'm a big boy, I know what to do! Have a nice summer." He told James, as the other boy walked towards his father…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N** I hope you didn't find it too short…Now, why don't you just click to the Go button…?


	5. Because we are friends

**A/N:** Chapter 5 is here and it's fairly bigger than the previous 4!!I hope you enjoy it as much! Any comments or suggestions on my writing are welcomed. Hell, flame if you feel like it…but don't expect any homemade cookies for you, for the only ones who get to have them are those whose reviews are kind and helpful!!

**Disclaimer: **The characters are not mine, I didn't create them…J.K.R. beat me to it. So, don't sue me, I don't think I could afford it.

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5. BECAUSE WE ARE FRIENDS

_**Hogwarts, December 1972**_

Sirius was angry. He was really pissed to tell the truth. He was currently sitting in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room and was frowning deeply. James, his so-called best friend, was beside him on the edge of a couch, biting hard his lip in a lame attempt to prevent himself from laughing. Sirius looked at him and groaned. This did nothing to help James' situation. If possible, it made it worse and the bespectacled boy burst in laughs and rolled off the couch hitting the floor.

Thud 

"I hope that hurt!" came Sirius' voice, full of malice, from the armchair.

More laughs came from James.

"Stop it! Will ya?!" Sirius spat.

"Sorry mate but…uh…purple? ..._purple_?" James managed to pronounce these words through his hysterical laughs and while trying to get up.

"Aaargh! I'm going to kill him! And her! They're going to suffer a slow and painful death! Honestly, that girl is so annoying and hot-headed…and Peter…that clumsy bastard." Sirius was babbling uncontrollably and spitting with every word that came from his mouth.

It had all began in Potions. Slaghorn had assigned them in pairs and asked them to brew a hiccup-healing potion. To Sirius' misfortune he was paired with Peter. Now, it was common knowledge that Pete was no genius, but when it came down to Potions, he was even able to make a cauldron explode by merely looking at it.

The instructions were not very difficult or complicated, but the book said that after the Daisy Root was added, the potion should have a light green colour. Theirs was purple. Something had obviously gone terribly wrong.

Then, Sirius made the mistake. As he was, once again, bored, he decided to have some fun with Peter. He carefully took a dead Caterpillar and placed it on the back of Peter's neck. As expected, Peter was surprised and made to touch the thing that tickled his neck. As soon as he took hold of the ingredient two things happened: first, he screamed loud enough to attract everyone's attention and second, he shook violently his hand in order to get rid of the disgusting ingredient. The caterpillar accidentally landed in the cauldron and the potion started to bubble. Intrigued by this new reaction, Sirius brought his face closer to the potion. Unfortunately, Peter chose that precise moment to trip over his laces and fall on the desk. The result? The purple goo flew out of the cauldron and right on Sirius' face.

The class erupted in laughter and Slaghorn quickly made his way towards a frozen Sirius who was blinking frenziedly. Once the professor had removed the goo with a flick of his wand it was visible that the potion had a dramatic effect on Sirius' face. His skin was now purple, and for some unknown reason his eyes, nose, mouth and ears had started to grow in a rather rapid speed. James was laughing so hard that he had to hold on Remus in order to stay on his feet and Pete was repeatedly saying 'sorry, sorry, sorry.'

After that, Sirius was sent to the Infirmary and when he came back, it was the end of the lunch break and his face was still purple. Madame Pomfrey had told him that he had to wait until Pr. Slaghorn could make an antidote; that meant that he was stuck for the whole day with a purple face.

Of course, that alone was not enough of a reason for a person like Sirius to sulk. On the contrary, since no pain was involved in the equation, he found the situation extremely funny. He and James walked around the castle scaring people and making funny faces and weird jokes about purple. No, that was definitely not the reason Sirius' mood had changed. The reason was a certain person and said person had a name: Remus Lupin.

James had kept his word and tried to fish Remus for his so-called secrete. But Remus had proved to be very efficient at (and probably used to) lying and acting. This particular evening had once again left, this time to visit his mother who had an accident, and Sirius happened to be in the dormitory while Remus was leaving. He had been a little bit tactless (something not out of character for Sirius) when asking the other boy where he was going and, although they didn't fight, Remus had left in a really bad mood.

When Sirius entered the common room, he took all his frustration out on the first person he met: Lily Evans. This proved to be his second mistake that day. Lily had not bothered getting into a fight with Sirius, and just picked her wand and aimed at his head. Sirius' hair now matched the brilliant colour of his face.

XxXxXxX

It was almost 8 o'clock and Sirius was thinking it was about time to get back to the Infirmary to see if the antidote was ready. He was sitting peacefully in an armchair, minding his own miserable business, when James showed up and nearly pissed his pants laughing with Sirius' situation.

"James Potter, you're a bastard! I hope you know that, and that you burn in Hell for your idiocy." Sirius finally got up and made his way to the Portrait.

"Okay, okay! I'm stopping," said James and took some deep breaths and sat back on the couch. "Sorry mate, it's just so…Damn! I should have a camera with…_Alright_ I'm stopping it! Come back!" James shout to Sirius, who, upon hearing about the camera, made to leave again.

"Why weren't you here earlier? And where is Peter? Remus just left-_again­_!" Sirius was pacing up and down, thus making James follow him with his gaze.

"I was in detention, sorry to be late." came Pete's voice from behind them. "Are you still obsessed with this secrete thing, Sirius?"

"I'm not obsessed! I just want to know! It really bothers me that he won't tell us the truth!"

"Okay! First of all stop pacing up and down, it drives me mad!! And second of all, how were we supposed to know that Remus was leaving tonight? I can't follow him everyday and wait to see when he starts packing his things! I've got other things to do too!" James was irritated but was trying to keep his voice low. He didn't want the whole Gryffindor tower to know about Remus' absences.

"Well, there must be a connection between his absences and that's what we have to find out! And what other things do you have to do outside the Gryffindor tower? I know you were not in the Library…" Sirius added sceptically.

"How do you know I was not in the Library? I might have wanted to study a little bit!" James said and he really sounded offended.

"Because you never go to the Library and when you do, it's about a prank. So if you were there the whole school would have found out." Peter pointed out these things with a natural tone as if he was pointing out that the sky is blue during daytime.

"Yeah, Pete's right. Where were you, Jamie and what were you doing?" said Sirius folding his hands over his chest.

"Um…I was out…doing…er-stuff."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Fine! I was practising Quidditch! Are you happy now?" spat James.

"Why? The Captain said that the team was full and you should try next year." Peter asked him curiously.

"Well, you never know what happens…" James said nonchalantly.

"Are you still hopping that someone will be severely injured or kicked out of the team? Or perhaps _die_?" asked him Sirius amused.

"Hey! I never said anything like that! I just said that there's always a chance that something could go wrong! So, why shouldn't I be prepared…you know, just in case…"

"Okay, shut up. We got the point. Back to the issue at hand: Remus." Sirius cut James and looked determined not to let them get away from the conversation.

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius! We have already discussed all the possible reasons he's been lying to us. We have even considered the chance he's an undercover agent…Thanks Pete for introducing us to James Bond. I just don't know what else there's to do…" James said exasperated.

"We must find the common point of all his absences! I know it's difficult but that's the only thing we have, and can, do."

"But I don't remember every single time he left! And I don't think that James does either." James nodded his head in agreement with Peter's comment. "Do you?"

"Well, I don't remember every single time but I do have in mind some dates…" Sirius said.

"Alright! Listen what we'll do." James decided that this was a dead end way they had taken and someone had to find a solution. "We wait till Christmas break, that's only 10 days away. We try to find an answer to the problem separately and if nothing works we confront him openly sometime during the first week after the Holydays."

"…okay, that sounds fine to me. What about you, Sirius?" asked Peter.

"I guess I have no choice but to accept. It's a good plan anyway…"

"So that basically means that we are all going home for Christmas…You don't plan on staying at Hogwarts, do you?" James asked and briefly glanced towards Sirius. The question was mostly addressed to him. James was not sure how Sirius would react if he was asked about his family and his problems with it once again, so he tried to be a bit subtle.

"I'm going home…my mum's cousins are visiting us and I can't stay here." Said Peter and then turned a questioning look at Sirius.

"I'm going home too…unfortunately. I only wish I was allowed to stay at school." Sirius sounded so miserable while saying this. He didn't want to go back there ever again…not after what his parents had done…he would never- _never_- forgive them for what they did. Not long after the summer vacation had started, he discovered that somehow they had managed to turn Regulus against him!

At the beginning, he had thought that it was only his imagination and the fact that he had been away from home for almost six months. But the way Reg sneered every time he heard the name of Sirius' House, the way he looked at him whenever the subject of muggle borns was brought up, left him with no doubt that his brother was actually mocking him! He never supported Sirius anymore and whenever Bella and her lovely husband were paying them a visit, Reg would stick with her, getting advice about how he should treat other people once he was in Hogwarts-and the day he would get to go there was still a whole year away. He had thought that, perhaps, his brother was ill or something terrible had happened to him, but he concluded that there was only one name for what Regulus had been through. It was called _brainwashing_.

It took Sirius quite a few weeks to find the courage to tell his friends that his brother was now just like the rest members of his family. At first he had been bitter and was angry with himself too, for not being there to protect Regulus, but then he realised that if his brother had any chance at separating himself from the rest of the Blacks, he would have been able to grasp that chance, just like Sirius himself had done. And just like their cousin Andromeda had done, by announcing her engagement to Ted Tonks. And just like his uncle Alfard had done by congratulating both Sirius for his sorting in Gryffindor and Dromeda for her engagement to a muggle born. Regulus was obviously not strong enough, and if Sirius had inherited one Black trait, that was to leave the weak and unworthy behind.

"I know it's hard for you mate, but hey, I can ask my parents and if we don't have any guests over for Christmas you can come to stay with me for a few days! How about it? Hell, I don't even need an answer I'm off to owl them right away!" said James in an enthusiastic tone and got up ready to go and fetch his owl.

"Really? You think I could spend a few days with you and your parents? Thanks mate…but don't get your hopes up…I don't know whether my mother would ever allow me to come to your place. Especially if we have any guests…" Sirius was praying that for once in his life his mother would decide to do something to make his life more beautiful instead of shittier.

"I'm sure that you'll persuade her someway…Tell her that she won't have to worry for your behaviour if you're not there to actually misbehave!" offered James.

"Plus, if there are two of you, there are more chances to think of an answer to Remus' secrete!" added Peter with a smile.

"I'll try to find someway to persuade her. I know she doesn't like the Potters for being so friendly with muggles and all, but I guess she'll be only too happy to get rid of me." concluded Sirius, as hope begun to rise in him.

"Great! I'm going to write a letter to my parents right now! See you in a bit, guys!" James said and sprinted towards their dormitory.

XxXxXxX

_**Hogwarts, January 1973**_

It was the first day in school right after Christmas and Sirius was sitting alone on his four-poster in the dormitory. It was some time after dinner and Peter was studying with Remus in the common room and James was serving detention with Professor Grind, after hexing Snape during Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was deep in thoughts and very thankful for his privacy at this particular moment. He had found out something really important and was wondering how to talk about it to his friends.

His holidays had not been that bad and he had been able to convince his mother to allow him to go to the Potters' for a couple of days. The three days he had stayed there had been the most wonderful in his life. Mr Potter was an amazing man, most of the time saying jokes and describing some of the great Quidditch matches he had participated in, and Mrs Potter was a sweet woman trying to put her husband and son in some order, but not putting so much effort to it rather than enjoying their boisterous behaviour. They treated him not as a guest, but as another member of their family.

He had dreaded the day he would have to go back to Grimmauld Place, because the reality of his own family's coldness towards him would clash hard on him; the unintentional, but also unavoidable, comparison between the two families would be made, and then Sirius would be left to feel, if possible, even more miserable.

But then, shortly after his arrival at his home, something happened that captured his attention and made him forget his misery.

It was not uncommon these days for murders (_accidents_ the Ministry preferred to call them) to appear every couple of months in the newspaper. Everybody knew it was Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But that day a murder was announced and it had not been called an accident. It was all over the news and everybody was discussing about the ghastly crime and how the immolator should be punished. Fenrir Grayback, a werewolf, had killed a young witch. She was half-blood. Voldemort was probably behind that.

Sirius' parents were revolted by the way the victim had died but never failed to mention that it was not a severe loss anyway, since her blood had not been pure. They had mentioned that it was time someone took the initiative to clean the wizarding world from the scum it was filled with, but did not like the way it had been done. Half-breeds, like werewolves, should not be trusted. They were low creatures with no human nature: they believed that they should be enslaved in order to serve the higher beings: wizards. Murdering someone like that was not a good idea: a nice killing curse would have done the same job and it would have left less mess behind.

The article in the newspaper announcing the murder stated also some facts about werewolves and how could someone recognise them and try to eliminate them. In Sirius' opinion most of the things the article said were ridiculous and superstitious. But one thing, one little thing got his attention…

…_not to be trusted for they are not humans._ The newspaper said._ Do not let their outer appearance deceive you, for they hide an animalistic form underneath. Once every moth they turn in bloodthirsty creatures, what secures us that the rest..._

And the article continued in the same tone. "_…once every month…_" had said the article, once every month something terrible happens to them…And that's when something clicked in Sirius' head with a definite, loud sound, as if two large metallic pieces had collided.

He excused himself from dinner and dashed to his room. He closed the door behind him and sunk slowly to the floor. He stayed there immobile for some time trying to remember each and every time Remus had left school. As realization slowly dawned on him he left a deep sigh and whispered to himself "Shit! I must find a way to tell the others…"

XxXxXxX

Sirius' main problem now, was not _how_ to bring out to his friends the news that their other friend turned once every month into a werewolf, but how to deal with their reactions. He didn't know if they would be able to handle the fact that Remus was, what the wizarding community called, a 'dark creature'…

The days between his chance discovery and the first day back at school had passed really fast. He had thought a lot and had decided that he didn't give a rat's ass if Remus was a werewolf, a pixie or a flobberworm. For him, and he hoped for James and Peter too, he was still the kind, gentle, funny and secretly mischievous Remus. He knew the prejudices that filled their world. He knew that, if people were not afraid of them, they hated these creatures with a passion. There were only a few who openly supported them, one of them being Pr. Dumbledore.

It was almost 9 o'clock when he heard footsteps climbing the stairs that led to their dorm. He quickly made his mind and decided that the best way to tell them was to be straight and get fast to the point.

The door opened and a very tired James came in. He didn't say anything and he went straight to his bed, threw himself on it, his face hitting the pillow with a 'puff'.

"Mmfgmgfr…fmmgrff"

"Sorry James dear, I didn't quite catch that." Sirius said trying not to sound sarcastic.

James looked up from his pillow and shot daggers to Sirius' direction "I said that I'm freaking tired! You can now use the toilets on the second floor without worrying about your hygiene…I can _personally_ assure you about that!"

"I'm sorry about that mate, but could you do me a favour? Can you go and see if you can take Peter upstairs without Remus following? I need to tell you something." Sirius was not in the mood to tease James about cleaning the toilets. There would be time for that after he had talked to them and, eventually, to Remus.

"What? Can't you just show some pity here? I'm tired out of my head and you want me to go back downstairs and then climb up _again_? And besides, why only Peter? Do you keep secretes from Remus?" James may not be in the mood to walk but he certainly seemed in the mood to talk.

"Awww…c'mon now, James! Do it for me. I promise, it's really important…Tell Peter you'll show him something, I don't know, something about a prank. If Remus is studying, he won't follow you." Sirius practically pleaded.

"It'd better be worth it Sirius, cause otherwise I'm going to kill you!" said James and got up. When he came back, ten minutes later, he was followed by Peter. Remus had obviously stayed behind to study.

"Okay Pete, sit down I need to talk to you about…um…something very important." Sirius motioned Peter to sit next to James, so he could face them both. "It's about…well, it's about t-the…the…"

"Spit it out already! I'm tired and I wanna go to sleep as soon as possible!" James had never been a patient person.

"Fine, fine! It's about Remus' disappearances! I know what he's been hiding!" Sirius almost shouted. No, no, if he wanted this to end well he should keep his calm.

"Really? How so? What's his secrete then?" asked Peter quickly.

"I'm not going to try and be subtle about this, because I think that it would be harder that way. So, um…well, during Christmas I read something that made me think of all the times Remus has left, and about the ridiculous excuses he gave us every time. I realised that he disappears once every month and that when he comes back, after a day or two, he looks pretty sick…There's only one explanation to that, and I'm sure that it's-"

"Oh my God!" exclaimed James and his eyes widened, as he realised the meaning of what Sirius had just said. These were not things he didn't know, but he had never put them in the same sentence like that. The answer had been before their eyes all along and they just hadn't realised it.

"Wha-what? I didn't get it…What does that mean?" Peter was confused and glanced towards Sirius, who had closed his eyes and was taking deep breaths.

"That idiot!" suddenly James shouted, after a few seconds of dead silence and both Sirius and Peter's heads turned towards him.

"James, I don't think that he-" started Sirius, scared that his friend was about to start accusing Remus.

"He held something that big a secrete? I can't believe that he thought that he couldn't trust us with that! Do we look like xenophobic or something?" James got up from his bed and started walking up and down. "It's infuriating! He lied to us about that and he thought that-"

"Calm down, mate! I'm sure he was scared, that's all…So, I take it you're not mad at him? That you still want him as a friend?" Sirius asked.

Before James got to answer that, Peter said exasperated "Can someone, _please_, inform me too? What's going on? I don't understand what Remus' secrete is."

"He's a werewolf, Pete!" James and Sirius said in unison.

Peter's eyes widened and he brought his hand over his mouth, probably in order to prevent his jaw from hitting the ground. "No!" he said after a couple of seconds. "Really?"

"No, Pete…This is a joke and everyone is having _so _much _fun_ right now!" Sirius replied sarcastically.

"I'm sorry…I-I…I didn't mean to, I just didn't expect that…"

"Don't worry, Pete. I know it's something you don't hear everyday. We understand if you don't feel the same way about Remus anymore, if you don't wanna hang out with him." said James, sounding a bit sad and disappointed while he shoot Sirius an angry glare.

"No!" protested Peter. "I don't think he's a freak or something, I just didn't think that he, out of all people would be a w-werewolf. I still want him as my friend, you just surprised me, is all."

"Good!" Sirius said and brightened up, "Now we need to talk to Remus."

XxXxXxX

They didn't have to wait long. After a while Remus got in the dorm, holding both his and Peter's books and homework.

"Hey Pete. You left your things behind so I brought them up for you. So…what are you planning to do this time? Make bugs come out of plates during lunch?" said Remus as he handed Peter's things to him.

"Wow, Rem this is an awesome idea! We were not planning a prank though." Sirius told him and made a mental note to check if what Remus had suggested was possible.

"Um, actually we would like to talk to you Rem…About something really important." James was not sure how to bring the subject up; he thought that, as Sirius had said there was no easy way doing this. He didn't want to scare him or make him feel uncomfortable, but Remus had the right to know that they knew. Plus, he was tired and wanted to get it over with quickly so he could finally sleep.

"Remus, do you…um…do you have anything that you would like to tell us? You know…something that feels like a burden and would like to, err share it with us?" Sirius was _not_ the type of a person to use subtlety and be successful.

_Oookay, things just got weird. _Thought Remus,_ why did things get weird all out of the blue? What does he mean by asking if I want to share anything? Oh God, oh God, oh God pleasepleaseplease don't do this to me…They can't possibly mean…_

"W-what do you m-mean? I d-don't have any s-sec…um burden that I-I would like to t-talk about.."_ Great, that's the perfect time for me to stutter, _Remus mentally kicked himself, as he slowly backed away from the other three boys and sat on his bed.

"Are you sure, Remus? You know, Sirius here, was just telling us his _darkest_ secret, how he had once thought that his teddy bear was turning into this monster every night and that it would eat him alive, so he hide it in his mother's room in order to damage her instead of him" James said, his voice dropping an octave in an attempt to sound more serious.

_Oh dear God! Can someone please take this person away and lock him in an asylum, after reminding me why I call him my best friend?_ Sirius was feeling rather homicidal at the moment._ There is nothing more ridiculous that he could have said…And here I was trying to be subtle about something important!_

Remus gave Sirius a questioning look, having forgotten momentarily about his secrete and the possibility that his friends knew about it. The absurdity of the whole thing was hilarious, but he didn't dare to laugh. He looked at Peter, who was currently finding the sheets of James' bed very interesting and then at James who was looking back at him with a severe look on his face. He turned his gaze back at Sirius, who just tried to smile in a reassuring kind of way and batted his eyelashes a couple of times.

"Oookay, what's going on?" Remus finally said. Their reactions were unnerving and they had totally confused him.

"Fine," Sirius took a deep breath and looked earnestly at Remus, "here's the thing. We might have found out something. We actually _have_ found out something. You don't have to lie to us anymore, Remus." Sirius had expected this to calm and comfort Remus, but it did nothing of the sort. The other boy, on the contrary, blanched and crept back on his bed, a look of terror on his eyes.

"W-what d-do you m-mean? I-I never l-lied to-to you…"_ Oh no, oh nononono…this is not happening…H-how did they find out? Oh God, they're going to hate me now._ Remus' eyes unfocused and he could hear the other boys moving around him. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the hate he would see in their eyes, tried not to think what would happen if they told everyone in the school._ Please don't hate me, please don't hate me, don't tell anyone…What am I going to do? What am I going to do?_

"Rem? Remus? Are you okay?" Sirius asked softly.

"Remus? Can you hear us? What's wrong with him?" Peter slowly stepped closer and looked worriedly to Remus' shuddering form.

"I think he is in some short of a quite panic attack…Remus? Remus!" James said the last word loudly and placed his hands on Remus' shoulders.

"Remus? Please answer us…We know the truth, and it's okay…Don't worry…we know that you're a werewolf" Sirius almost whispered the last word, but it probably reached Remus' ears, because upon hearing it the other boy stilled and tightened.

It was that one word that brought him back in reality. _Werewolf_. He himself didn't usually dare to pronounce it…but hearing it said by someone else, and especially, directed to him…that was too much. Slowly tears stared burning his eyes and he didn't try to hold them back. He didn't sob; he just let the tears run down his cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry…I-I…please don't tell anyone, I don't want the whole school to-to find out…I'll leave if you d-don't…if-if you h-hate me…just, don't tell anyone…please…" Remus didn't want to leave, he didn't want to lose his friends, but the most important thing right now was to make sure that no one else would find out.

"What?" exclaimed Sirius, taken aback by the sudden break in Remus' voice. "Remus, we don't hate you, we…Rem we-we don't care, it's okay."

"Yeah, mate. We don't care that you happen to be a werewolf…It doesn't matter to us. You're still our friend. You'll always be." said James.

"And we're not telling anyone. It'll be our secrete. Don't worry anymore about it." Peter sat on the bed and tried to catch Remus' eyes with his.

"Y-you don't mind? But-but I'm a d-dark creature…nobody likes w-werewolves…" Remus was surprised to hear these reassuring words coming from them. He always knew what he was and what people thought of him. He had accepted it some time ago and had never thought that the time would come that others would talk to him like that. So far, only his parents had shown him affection and understanding. Not even his grandparents had accepted the fact that he was only partly human. He was afraid that this might be some trick of his mind, that this did not really happen, so he closed his eyes again and he reopened them, but his friends were still there, smiling kindly to him. "B-but, why?"

"Why what?" asked Sirius, genuinely surprised.

"Why d-do you still want me as a f-friend? Why don't you mind that I'm a d-dark creature?" as much as he tried, Remus could not stop himself stuttering. It's something that he used to do a lot when he was much younger and he didn't like the fact that this old, stupid habit came back.

"First of all, stop calling yourself a dark creature-"

"But that's what the M-ministry calls dangerous creatures, like w-werewolves." Remus cut James.

"These are bullshit!" said Sirius steadily. "You're not a dark creature! You're a human twenty nine days a month, well, thirty days if the month has thirty one days."

"You're a great person Remus! There's no way we would hate you just because of your…werewolf-ity." said Peter.

"Lycanthropy." Remus said in reflex. "It's not werewolf-ity or werewolf-iness, it's called lycanthropy."

"You see? You're a great person, Rem! You teach us all kind of new things!" James thought that this may not be the best argument he could have thought, but Remus seemed to relax a lot.

"Are you sure you don't mind? I don't want to burden you with this problem…with this secrete. You don't have to-"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Remus! Of course we don't have to-we _want_ to! We are friends, and friends are there to support each other no matter what!" Sirius didn't want to sound angry or irritated, but he had to make Remus understand that they really did_ not_ care!

"I-I…I guess I…um…thank you?" it got out more like a question, but all the other boys needed to see was the warm smile of relief that took residence on Remus' face.

"We are friends Remus and this is not going to change. We will be there when you need us, we promise." Sirius said, a final tone in his voice as he leaned and hugged the other boy.

"Thank you, guys. This means so much to me…I could never show you how much I appreciate this." Remus' eyes had started to water again, this time out of joy not fear.

"So," said Sirius as he pulled himself away from Remus and turning towards James, "you cleaned some toilets, I heard…"

James groaned and rushed over his bed, shut the curtains and cast a silencing spell, not before muttering 'Sod off, Black' and hearing the other three erupt with laughter. He was asleep a few seconds after his head connected with the pillow. He didn't even take his glasses off.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N:** End of this chapter! Good Gracious! It's so much harder to write a long chapter than a medium one…I think I might not be able to handle a big chapter like that again…But, who knows, we'll see!! Next chapter's going to be mostly about their first visit at the Infirmary, after a full moon. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, you know what to do,_ wink wink_, yep! Hit the Go button!


	6. An unusual birthday party

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Happy New Year to you all!! I know I'm a bit late, but I was in London for two weeks with no Internet access. Anyways, here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter is still not mine!! Everything belongs to J.K.R. I'm simply borrowing her wonderful characters!

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6. AN UNUSUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY

_**Hogwarts, March 1973**_

Remus was laid on his back under the comfy, warm blanket and sheets of his four-poster. Outside, the dark was melting in more warm colors, as the first rays of the sun hesitantly touched the sky. He was breathing deeply and after a few minutes he kicked the sheets off of him. It was the end of March and, although it was still quite cold out, he was getting easily hot. Especially around the full moon, and the full moon was in less than twenty hours, and it always had a bad impact on him.

For Remus Lupin was a werewolf. He was a thirteen-year-old werewolf, who also happened to study in Hogwarts in order to become one day a fully licensed wizard. And Remus Lupin, werewolf and wizard, happened to have three friends. Three best friends, for whom he would be grateful for the rest of his life. Because they cared enough for him to discover on their own his secret, and they loved him enough not to care about it and accept it without any questions.

His whole life, Remus had been afraid of people, just because they, in return, were afraid of him, of what he was. His parents had tried to protect him from all this without turning him into an introverted and an unsociable child. He was timid, sure, but he craved affection, sociality and companionship and that gave him strength to come out of his shell, long enough, to befriend the three boys that were softly snoring on his right.

He had tried to be himself as much as possible without revealing his secret, but in the end it proved that it mattered not, because they had accepted him unconditionally. He still didn't feel comfortable talking about his lycanthropy, as he was not used to that, but he had answered most of the questions he was asked. Most of them, concerning his transformations and the myths surrounding werewolves.

He still wouldn't undress in front of the other boys or expose any parts of his torso or upper arms. These parts of his body were the more scarred ones and, although he knew his friends had gotten a glimpse of them, he felt embarrassed and revolted by the idea of fully exposing his whole body. It was not a pleasant sight for him and it wouldn't be one for them either. And he still wouldn't let them visit him in the hospital wig after the full moon, no matter how hard they insisted.

Before his first transformation, after the boys had told Remus they knew about his 'condition', James had asked him if he would like them to visit him the following morning. He had refused, quite heatedly too. He had been terrified that, once they would see him lying on the bed in the Infirmary, covered in bandages, wounds and perhaps blood, they would instantly realise what they had gotten themselves into and would turn their backs to him. When he had come back in the dorm that night, they were all waiting for him with big boxes full of chocolate. Peter and James had gasped when they noticed the new scar gracing his pale face. He had tried to hide the thin, red-soon-to-be-silver line that connected the base of his nose with the bottom of his left ear, by turning his head slightly to the left. Sirius had grabbed him by the shoulders and told him not to be ridiculous, it was barely visible. It was a lie but it made him feel better.

After that, they had asked him again to visit him in the Infirmary, but he had once again declined. Today, it was going to be the third transformation after The Talk (as Remus had named, in his mind, the night the three boys had talked to him) and they had, once again, tried to convince him to let them come to see him. This time though, they had insisted more than usual and he was upset. Not with them, but with this whole stupid situation. James had tried to persuade Remus by telling him that it would be a great birthday present (James' birthday was the day right after the full moon: the 27th of March) for him to be allowed to visit his best friend in the hospital wig, but Remus told James that, unfortunately, he had already bought him a present.

He had gone to his bed without leaving them time to complain or discuss the matter any further and had fallen asleep quite easily. But he had awoken early, after a not-so-calm sleep. The night before the full moon, he would always feel nervous and wouldn't be able to concentrate or relax. He decided that the best thing he could do was to get up and start getting ready for classes.

He took his clothes with him in the bathroom and, after a hot shower, he dressed and went back to the dorm. His eyes slowly travelled over the room and a smile crept to his lips as James and Sirius gave a loud snore at the same time. He looked at his watch and thought that it was about time to wake his friends. Remus briefly closed his eyes and relished the silence that he knew was about to be broken…

XxXxXxX

"Ouch! Sirius, watch where you're stepping!" whispered James on his right.

"Sorry mate, it's hard to see where I'm going." Sirius whispered back to his friend.

"Do you have any idea _where_ we're going, or is Filch going to find us?" Peter said anxiously.

"_Shhh_, Pete! We're invisible not…in-hear-able!"

"James, that's not a word!" Sirius said as he stopped walking and thus, forced the other two to do so.

"I don't care if it's a word or not! I think we are lost."

James, Sirius and Peter were currently under an Invisibility Cloak and, as very well stated by James, lost.

The Invisibility Cloak had arrived this very morning by Jarred, James parents' owl. It was his birthday present by his dad. His mum had no idea that James now owned his dad's old Cloak and, as Harold Potter sated in his letter to his son, James was not allowed to let his mother discover that her husband had found where she had hidden the Cloak and had given it to his son. That had also been the reason why he had sent the present one day earlier. James had been thrilled to find out that it was a real Invisibility Cloak and had no idea why his father had never told him anything about it before. Perhaps it had something to do with James already causing enough mischief without it, as Remus had wisely pointed out.

"Remus is going to be so pissed when he finds out about this," Sirius whispered to his friends.

"Well, he doesn't have to find out!" reasoned James. "Anyway, I think it's this way."

"Why? Can you actually smell something?" Peter asked.

"Don't be daft! I'm not a dog! I remember this corridor!" James' voice was as quiet as possible.

"So, lets say that we get there. How are we going to enter?" Sirius thought that they should have planned just a bit better their little trip to the kitchens. Because that was their destination this ungodly hour.

A few days ago James and Peter had been complaining that they were hungry and should have been able to pay a visit to the kitchens to help themselves on a second dinner. After the whole complaining thing was over, James had headed up to their dorm. As he entered he saw something greenish moving near his bed. The house elf had turned his head upon hearing footsteps behind it and for a couple of seconds they both stood there staring at each other; James blinking and the house elf blushing. Slowly a smile crept to James' face and it mustn't have been an encouraging one, because the elf had looked terrified and apparated with a loud _crack_.

When it reappeared in the kitchens, it wasn't alone anymore. It had a laughing James attached to its left arm.

James had taken as many pies as he could hide in his cloak and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. Needless to say that the other three boys had been abashed to see him enter through the Portrait, since they had witnessed him climbing the stairs leading to their dorm a few minutes ago. Of course in all his excitement he had forgotten to ask the elves how to re-enter the kitchens and if a password was, for example, needed.

Now, all of them were standing in front of the portrait James claimed to have climbed out of, as he had left the kitchens.

"Maybe we need to give a password…" said Sirius looking thoughtfully at the portrait.

"Like what?" Peter asked confused.

"I dunno…something like _I'm hungry_," replied Sirius.

"That would be a stupid password. And besides, we're not here to eat but to take a big chocolate cake for Remus!" reminded them James.

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt us to eat something while we are here…"

"I agree!!" exclaimed Peter, a bit too loudly.

"Anyway, we can talk once we get inside!" interrupted them James. "Maybe there's a secrete lever or a button," he tried, while scanning with his eyes the frame of the portrait.

"I guess we have to search then, don't we?" Sirius said impatiently, as his stomach rumbled.

Hesitantly, they stepped closer to the portrait and three pairs of hands sprang seemingly out of nowhere and started touching and exploring the portrait and the frame. After some moments, Peter's hand brushed accidentally over the pear and it immediately giggled.

"Did the pear just giggled or have I gone mad?" asked dumbfounded, James.

"How did you do that?" Sirius asked Peter, who was looking as taken aback as the other two.

Before he could answer that, the pear disappeared and in its place a door handle appeared.

"Bloody hell! There's a door handle!" Sirius forgot to keep his voice low and before anyone could hear them, James opened the door and shoved the other two boys in.

Almost a hundred pair of eyes turned towards them and stared at the, now closed, entrance. The three boys stared back before they remembered they were invisible. James took off of them the Cloak and the house elves gaped surprised.

"Um…hello! Good evening…er…house elves," begun James uneasy.

Before he could say anything else, about ten house elves surrounded them and starting bowing and offering pies and puddings and many other goodies. Sirius, and Peter of course, were only too happy to accept the offerings, while James explained that they would like to have a big chocolate cake with icing on top of it with the words _For Remus_ written.

Twenty minutes later, they were making their way back to the Gryffindor tower very pleased with themselves. Sirius and Pete had eaten as much as they could and James had just eaten a small mint pie. The cake was wonderful and looked delicious and James was thankful that both of his friends were too full to even consider tasting it.

Once they reached the dormitory, they placed the cake on a bedside table and decided to visit Remus after their first lesson was over, during the free period they had just before lunch. That way, Remus would have had the time to rest a bit.

XxXxXxX

Remus woke up with a headache that morning. It hadn't been a very bad transformation but his whole body hurt nevertheless. There was no cure for werewolf wounds, so the only thing Madam Pomfrey could do to help him, was to stop the blood from his wounds, give him a healing potion for the bruises and, if the pain was intolerable, a sleeping potion. That particular time Remus assured her that he did not need a sleeping potion and that he could fall asleep perfectly on his own. But he had awoken earlier than he had counted because of familiar loud voices coming from the door of the Infirmary.

"We know everything about him and his 'condition'! We just want to see him," a voice said and Remus recognised it immediately as James'.

"We won't disturb him for long. We brought him a present too! Now let us pass!" and there was no doubt that this irritated and kind of demanding voice belonged to Sirius.

"Oh no…" Remus whispered. _I can't believe they're actually here! I hope Madame Pomfrey won't let them in…_

And just as he thought this he heard the nurse's characteristic voice saying "Fine, but you can't stay for long! Remus needs to rest. And you're not allowed to shout either."

She turned around then and motioned them to follow her. She led the three boys at the very back of the Infirmary, where a separate small room was located. It had been built specially for Remus, so other patients wouldn't disturb him and no one would be able to ask weird questions about him.

She knocked gently on the door and asked "Remus dear, are you awake?"

Remus was so shocked that he couldn't find his voice. His brain screamed to him to shout that _no!I'm not awake and I don't want to see anyone at the moment_, but his voice just wouldn't cooperate. Then, the door opened gently and the nurse leaned in and gave Remus a questioning look.

"Your friends are here to visit you. Should I let them in?"

"Of course you should let us in! We won't bite him! We just want to say hi!" Sirius said impatiently.

"I-I…um well, you…" Remus was trying really hard to form coherent sentences but before he could try and say something again, the door opened completely and James walked in with a very big smile on his face and a very big cake in his hands.

"Happy birthday to me! And how are you this morning Remus?" he said and all Remus could do, as the other two boys got in the small room, was to pull the sheets up to his neck.

"Um…happy birthday James. I thought I-I had asked you to not visit me in the hospital wing." Remus sounded tired and a bit sad. That made the faces of the other boys fell and Madame Pomfrey, ever so discreetly, got out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"Come on Remus!" said Sirius, "we just want to see how you're doing. There's nothing you should be embarrassed about."

"We even brought you a cake! A chocolate one!" said Peter.

"I just don't want you guys to see me like that…all covered in bandages and…and weak." said Remus in a small voice looking at his hands.

"We don't think you're weak Remus. Now, can we please finish this conversation and begin eating this cake? The smell has almost broken my nose!" whined James eyeing adoringly the cake in his hands.

"You never cease to surprise me guys. And I don't even wanna know how you got this cake!" Remus said giving them a small smile. "It looks delicious though!"

The other boys gathered around him beaming happily and Sirius took out from his bag four spoons, some napkins and a gift wrapped in red paper with small snitches on it.

"Happy birthday Jamesie-boy!" Sirius said handing the gift to his best friend.

"Thanks mate! What is it?" the question was quite philosophical, as he unwrapped the gift immediately. "Wow! It's the history of the British Quidditch teams and a poster of Puddlemere United!! It's amazing!"

"I left my gift up on the dormitory. I guess you'll have to wait till I leave the hospital wig."

"It's okay Remus. Don't worry about it!"

"And this is my gift," said Peter handing James a small box. "I hope you like it!"

James opened the box, which proved to be full of chocoballs.

"Ha! And they're shaped in the letters of my name! That's great Pete!! Thanks a lot!" said James while taking a closer look, and taste, of the chocoballs.

"Well, I must admit that this is the most weird birthday party I've ever attended my whole life," announced Sirius with a mouth full of cake.

"I have to agree with that, but it also happens to be one of the best too!" said Remus beaming.

Soon after the cake had disappeared and there were left enough chocoballs to create only three times James' name, Madame Pomfrey came in and told them that they should go, so Remus could get some sleep. The boys didn't argue since it was obvious that Remus was very tired and promised to take notes during the next lessons, so he wouldn't miss anything important.

"Thank you very much for coming. I guess it was a bit silly of me to forbid you to visit me." Remus told his friends as they left.

"Not at all Rem! Get some sleep and we'll see you tonight at the dormitory," replied Sirius smiling, and the three boys made their way to the Great Hall for their lunch.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N:** I'm very sorry for any mistakes you may find…My chapters are not betaed, so it's just me and my knowledge of English! If you liked it (or even if you didn't) tell me so by reviewing!! cheers


	7. The three Fs

**A/N:** Um, hello! Welcome to chapter 7! I don't really have much to say, except, of course, for the fact that I have a beta and I need to thank her soooo much!! I must tell you, **Vikertee** saved me and my fic!! Vicky you're the best!!

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing…dammit!!

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7. THE THREE Fs

_**Hogwarts, September 1973**_

"Black, Regulus," came McGonagall's loud voice as she called one of the first years to come forward and sit on the old stool and to be sorted into a House.

Just like every year, upon arriving at the station in Hogsmead, the first-years would travel across the lake on small boats, be welcomed by Professor McGonagall and then be lead in the Great Hall, where the Sorting would take place. Just like every year, students were sorted either into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Every year, the new students were warmly welcomed by the students of their House. Every year it was the same thing, and this time was no exception as the Slytherin table clapped enthusiastically when the Sorting Hat announced _Slytherin _(surprise, surprise), after resting only a couple of seconds on the head of the first-year.

To say that the other tables remained detached wouldn't be completely true, for there was a person among the Gryffindors who was miserably trying not to sulk. And said person's name happened to be also Black. More specifically, Sirius Black.

"Well, you know-"

"I don't want to talk about it James." Sirius said firmly, and for the rest of the evening he didn't speak and his friend didn't try to make him do so. Just as they were leaving the Great Hall, Sirius said through gritted teeth, "If the Slug Club meetings won't be fun now…"

XxXxXxX

It was a cold Saturday evening of September and Remus was sitting peacefully on his favourite couch in the Gryffindor common room, right next to the fireplace. A heavy book was sitting on his knees and a few parchments were scattered around him. Although school had only started a couple of weeks ago and the students of third year still didn't have too much homework, Remus simply loved books and reading. He would usually go to the Library to read, because it was the only place where his three best friends couldn't accompany him and make noise. But today they served detention (separately, mind you) after a well-played prank on a certain big nosed Slytherin git, involving a slippery floor and pink underwear, and the Gryffindor common room was a tolerable place for someone to read. Of course he was not as innocent as the teachers might have thought, but he surely was cleverer than his friends not to get caught.

After a couple of hours of reading though, he got a bit bored. It is amazing how he had grown used to his friends' ruckus, and how he would seek their company after a few hours of being all by himself. He closed his book, placed it carefully on the table and closed his eyes as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Hey, furry boy!"

Remus snapped his eyes open and turned around.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked James, confused, as the other boy sat next to him. Sirius and Peter followed James' example and they, too, sat on the couch, Sirius on the other side of Remus and Peter next to James.

"Well," began to explain James, "you didn't like the 'furry little problem' thing, nor the 'moon boy' thing, so I thought I should call you 'furry boy'! It's the combination of the two!" he declared proudly.

Remus rolled his eyes and decided it was time to ask the question he should've asked when this whole nickname-situation had began.

"First of all, wipe away that smug grin of yours! And second of all, why do you _have _to call me anything at all?"

"Because," said Sirius as if Remus was asking a ridiculous question, "it's funny and we are bored."

"I'm sorry to break it to you guys, but being a werewolf is certainly not _funny_!" Remus said as he glanced around him to make sure that no one was overhearing their conversation.

"Aww…come on, Rem! Live your life a bit! You're supposed to be mysterious and sneaky and, and…I dunno, deadly dangerous I guess."

"Sirius, mate, those are _vampires_ you're describing," James said, rolling his eyes. "Werewolves are feral, ferocious and furry!"

"Then you should've been a vampire, Rem. They're more interesting…Oh! I know! _I_ could be a vampire and then, we could hang out as dangerous and dark creatures!"

"Yeah, because hanging out as humans is impossible, Sirius!" Remus said to an over-enthusiastic Sirius. "Anyway, I'm sorry to inform you that werewolves don't get along with vampires. We generally don't like dead corpses walking around."

"Isn't that supposed to be an Inferi?" asked Peter confused. "What?" he said when he saw the others looking at him wide eyed, "I read it in the newspaper yesterday…"

"_Ahem,_" Remus tried to catch the others' attention, "I daresay this conversation has gotten out of control. Lets make a few things clear. I'm a werewolf and my name is Remus. I happen to like it, my name that is. You are completely humans and that's that. I stay named Remus and you," he glared daggers at Sirius, "stay away from me during the full moon."

"What?!" Sirius asked-rather shouted, offended. "I just thought it would be interesting to see your…err… wolf self."

"Forget it, Sirius! I don't care how you do it, but get that idea out of your mind! The appropriate word here is not interesting, but _dangerous_! No human can approach me while I'm transformed! I could kill you, Sirius! Really kill you!"

"Okay calm down, Remus" said James patting Remus' back. "Anyway," he continued, "we still haven't solved the nickname problem. Do you think I could call you FFF?"

XxXxXxX

**_Hogwarts, last week of September 1973_**

Heavy clouds hung above Hogwarts. It had been raining for a good two hours now, and everything was wet and slippery. But James Potter didn't care.

The ground had turned into a big mud pool and the wind was quite chilly as it touched your skin and dried the mud on your clothes. But James Potter didn't care.

He didn't care, because he, yes he, James Harold Potter, had just been accepted in the Quidditch team. He was going to be playing for the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a seeker. Well, everything was almost perfect and he was in a great mood! His original plan was to be accepted as a chaser but the team had already three very good chasers, two of whom, very _unfortunately_, happened to graduate this year. That meant that next year two places would be open for a chaser and he would certainly be the one to win one of these two places. Yes, everything was almost perfect!

He got in the castle, not caring about the fact that Filch would skin him alive, should he find out the large mud stamps he left behind him. The reason he was covered in mud was that he fell from his broomstick. Now, James was an excellent Quidditch player, but when the Captain had announced that he was accepted in the team, he had been a bit overjoyed and forgot that you shouldn't leave your hands _and_ legs from the broomstick. Thankfully, he had been only a few meters off the ground, so he hadn't been hurt.

As he approached the Portrait that indicated the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, he met two of his fellow Gryffindors. Two girls to be exact.

"Evans, Macdonald! I bid you both a nice afternoon! Isn't the weather just splendid?!" James' grin could not be bigger as he saluted Lily Evans and Mary Macdonald.

"Potter," began Lily, "are you ok?" Lily thought that this was perhaps the scariest and maddest grin she had ever seen.

"I'm fine! I'm perfect! And mind you, the Gryffindor Quidditch team is perfect now! You're looking upon the new seeker of the team. You can congratulate me now!" To say that he was smug would be an understatement.

"You've totally lost it…" said Lily and took Mary's hand and dragged her with her towards the Library.

James was not in the bit offended, well, maybe just a little disappointed that the girls did not appreciate the new acquisition of the team, but as stated before, nothing could ruin his mood today.

"Hey Triple F, Pete, Sirius," he greeted the boys as he took his seat next to them in the Gryffindor common room, "how are you this fine afternoon?"

Triple F-um, sorry, Remus groaned upon hearing James calling him once again with this ridiculous nickname and Sirius and Peter looked up from their game of chess.

"Wow, mate! You look dashing! What's the special occasion?" Sirius said in mock admiration.

"The special occasion is that I'M THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM'S SEEKER!!" James shouted and every head in the common room turned towards him and his grin, in return, became, if possible, even wider.

"Really? Congratulations mate! I would hug you, but…well, you know, I like being dry and clean!" said Sirius, and the other two boys got up and congratulated him too.

"So, that means that this year we are going for the Cup, huh?" asked Peter smiling brightly.

"Of course, Pete! They won't know what hit them!" James responded enthusiastically.

Remus sat down and continued reading his book. It was a muggle novel his parents had sent him a couple of days ago. Sirius and Pete went back to their game of chess and James decided it would be a good idea to take a shower. Before he could reach the stairs, Sirius' voice made him stop and turn back.

"OH SHIT!! I almost forgot…James!" shouted Sirius although James was just a few meters away, "Guess what!"

"What?" asked James rather stupidly. Sirius rolled his eyes and said: "Just guess!"

"Um…you saw your brother and he told you he's leaving school?" Okay maybe this was not the right comment to make. "Sorry, what did you want to tell me?"

Sirius' face darkened upon hearing about his brother, but shoved it off quickly. When Regulus had arrived in Hogwarts and had been sorted in Slytherin, he had decided to do the simplest thing (and paradoxically it happened to be the one thing that wouldn't get him in trouble): ignore his brother's existence. He didn't like talking about him, but he couldn't be angry with James, not about that.

"Well," started Sirius, a smile slowly creeping on his mouth, "I managed to do what you couldn't!" The smile then turned into a grin and Remus, for the second time, groaned loudly.

"Oh please, Sirius!" Remus begged his friend, "Can't we just forget it?"

"No we can't…Unless you like being called 'Triple F'!" stated Sirius and when Remus didn't respond, but just shook his head instead, he turned to James.

"I found a nickname for Remus!" Sirius declared proudly.

"What? But he already has one!" protested James, "it's 'Triple F'!"

"Oh please, James! Are you really proud about that stupid nickname? Mine is much better! I decided we should call him 'Moony'!" Sirius whispered the last word, because they had agreed that this nickname thing would be something among the four of them. "So, what do you think?"

"…"

"You like it!"

"No, I don't!"

"You do too!!" Sirius said happily.

"Let's vote!" shot James in reflex. "I vote for mine, obviously."

"Well, duh! I vote for mine!" said Sirius and then turned to Peter, "Which one do you vote for?"

Peter looked anxiously from James to Sirius. They were both looking through narrowed eyes at him. Peter actually thought that 'Moony' sounded a lot better than 'Triple F' but that was not the reason he voted for it. The actual reason is that he did not want to get on Sirius' bad side; he was afraid to experience such a thing.

"Um…I-I do think that 'Moony' sounds better…" he said, smiling apologetically at James.

"Fine! I'll remember that, Pete!" said James, "what about you, Remus?"

"I've already told you that I don't want any nicknames! How hard is to get that?"

"Remus, you need to realize one thing: your opinion doesn't really matter. You're getting a nickname whether you like it or not and then each one of us is also getting one!"

"We are?" James asked Sirius, confused.

"Of course we are! Now Remus, if you don't want to answer, James will keep calling you 'Triple F'-" Sirius made a disgusted face here that earned him a glare from James, "and me and Pete will be calling you 'Moony'! It's either having one or two. None is not an option," he added firmly.

"It's 'Pete and I' first of all," that made the other three boys roll their eyes, "and I guess one is better than two, and sorry to hurt your feelings James, but 'Moony' is definitely much better than 'Triple F'…as long as no one else knows about it." Remus added as an afterthought.

"Fine!" said James, "_fine_! Pick _them_ over me Remus!" James said pouting.

"Get over it, mate!" said Sirius grinning like a maniac, "I know you like it deep down!"

"Okay, I may like it, but I don't like _you_ right now, Sirius!" James said and made his way to the dormitories to take a shower.

"Well," Peter said, "I think we can make him forget about it, by allowing him to find _our_ nicknames."

"Do what you want, Pete, but I will never-_never­_- allow him to find a nickname for me. He can find yours, but certainly not mine." Sirius informed Pete, at which the other boy just nodded, something he would regret, a lot, later…

XxXxXxX

**_Hogwarts, November 1973_**

"Remus…does it hurt?" Sirius asked one afternoon his tawny haired friend, as he sat beside him on his bed.

"Huh?" Remus asked unintelligibly, "What are you talking about?"

"The transformation, Rem. Does it hurt?"

"Oh" was all Remus managed to say. His back stiffened and his eyes were suddenly drawn by his hands that were holding a book very tightly. "I thought we had talked about that. I explained to you how the transformations are. It's quite painful."

"Yeah, I know. But, what I'm asking is…um… how-how do you feel? You know, before and after the transformation."

…_pain, despair, misery, sadness, pain, disgust, fear, solitude, pain…_

"Unwell."

"_Unwell_? Just that?" Sirius asked him in disbelief, "don't lie, Moony. You can trust me. I just…I wanna know, coz I'm worried."

Remus had been afraid that the day would come when his friends would ask him this kind of questions, but it was too soon, too soon. These were things he didn't want to admit to himself, these were things he avoided to think about. He couldn't face the truth by himself, so how was he supposed to voice them to someone else? But, then again, he thought, maybe that way it would be easier…

"Remus, are you still with me?" Sirius' voice brought back Remus in reality.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah, sorry I got distracted."

"How was your first transformation? Can I get to know that, at least?" Sirius asked his friend in a low voice.

"Well, I don't remember much. I told you I was only six when I got bitten. I do remember it was painful. My body was more fragile back then and I was not used to it. I was not expecting so much pain…Almost every bone of my body was broken and I had lost lots of blood. I wanted to cry but I wasn't even strong enough for that. Dad called a healer, coz he thought I was gonna die. It's a miracle I didn't, or that's what the healer said…I think that pretty much sums it up." finished Remus in a sad tone.

Sirius remained silent for a few moments. Mental images of small hands covered in blood and tears, lots of tears, in big, amber eyes went through his mind. "I'm sorry," he managed at last.

"Don't be," Remus told him with a much steadier voice, "it's not your fault. I'm kinda used to it now. I now what to expect."

"Isn't that worse?" Sirius asked him, "knowing what's going to happen and living with the agony of this knowledge?"

Frankly, Remus was impressed. Sirius was thought to be shallow and self-centred. But Remus knew that this was not true; he just didn't bother to care about people who meant nothing to him. And right now, Sirius had proved him right, since he had described perfectly Remus' feelings, and that meant that he cared enough to see into the other boy.

"Stop worrying, Sirius. I told you, I'm almost used to it now." But Remus' tone told Sirius that this was a lie. A lie directed not to him but to Remus himself.

"I do worry, so tell me. Please?" Sirius rarely used this word, but when he did it, it was about something of great importance.

"I…Well, _fine_! I feel pain, okay? Lots of pain. Not just physically. I mean I can feel the wolf taking control over my mind and that's the worse! I can feel my self getting lost and that's what scares me the most! And when I wake up, the following morning…well, let's just say that I'm sick of my own blood. I'm always afraid that something went wrong, someone got hurt…And I feel tired. Tired of this mess, you know?"

"No, Rem, I don't know, but I try to understand," Sirius said as he placed his arm over Remus' shoulders, "we will help you. I promise we will!"

Remus couldn't help himself and left a chuckle escape his mouth. His friends were so naïve, but oh-so-adorably so. "You can't Sirius, but thanks anyway."

"Don't you dare underestimate me and James! We are the cleverest students in Hogwarts! Natural geniuses you know!"

"Don't try to be so modest, Sirius, someone might think your ego doesn't even exist…" said Remus ironically, but only to lighten the atmosphere. He knew that his two friends were indeed naturally brilliant, but he knew that they were stupidly reckless too. He was afraid that, should he encourage them, they could get in real trouble and even put themselves in danger.

"Well, it's getting late. I should be going. James's gonna kill me if I'm late. You sure you don't wanna come?" Sirius asked him as he got up.

"Yes, I'm sure Sirius. You know, blowing up a toilet is not the most discreet thing in the world, and I'm not in the mood to be running away from Filch tonight."

"The moon, huh?" Sirius said simply, avoiding, ever so elegantly, the jab about Filch.

"Yeah," Remus replied while looking out of the window to the retreating sun. "It's tomorrow night and I'm feeling a bit…unwell. Try to be back before the curfew, though!"

"Yes, _mum_!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes. And just before he exited the dorm, he turned to Remus and said, "honestly Rem, if you keep this behaviour up, you'll end up a Prefect…" and then added, his voice barely a whisper "…what a shame…!"

XxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N:** Liked it? Or not? Let me know by reviewing!!


	8. Project animagi

**A/N:** Hello everybody! Welcome to chapter 8!! I can't believe I have actually come this far with this fic…I thought I was going to get disappointed at some point and leave it after the first couple of chapters!! So, I want to thank everyone who has left a review so far! And of course a big 'thank you' goes to my beta **Vikertee**!!!

**Disclaimer:** As usual…I don't own anything except for the title…but come to think about it, with _my_ luck this title must have already been used…Ah that's life what can you do?

Enjoy… 

XxXxXxXxXxX

8. PROJECT ANIMAGI

_**Hogwarts, December **__**1973**_

The heavy, wooden door that leaded out of the castle and into the grounds opened slowly just a few inches and then closed. As the sun was still a distant idea in the horizon, the shadows were still heavy and the atmosphere was slightly moistured by the night's coldness just melting away. There was no one around, and the door appeared to have opened and closed by itself. But that was not the case, because, not even in Hogwarts, doors didn't open by themselves if there was not a good reason behind the action. But if someone could take a closer look on the ground and was observant enough, they would be able to notice the grass being pressed in the ground every few inches, as if someone was walking towards the forest…But there was no one around…

Sirius was trying his best to be as quite as possible. It was not easy, especially for him, but he really didn't want to get caught alone, out of bed in an hour like that. He looked around him for one last time and took his wand out, pointed it at the door and murmured the incantation. The door opened slowly and softly and he quickly stepped out. He closed the door, once again using his wand. If he had opened the door with his hands the door might have creaked. He shivered due to the cold and tightened the Invisibility Cloak he had nicked from James around him. He took a deep breath and headed towards the Whomping Willow. For his final destination was the Shrieking Shack that was located at the end of the tunnel, whose entrance was marked by this very peculiar tree.

The secret of how to prevent the Willow from beating the crap out of you (as James had very elegantly said), had accidentally reached James, Sirius and Peter's ears. James and Sirius had been overwhelmed by the information, while Peter doubted it was safe to approach the 'devil tree', even if it was immobilised. Once Remus had realised what he had said to his friends (because it was Remus who had accidentally let his tongue slip), he made them promise to him that, no matter what, they would never use this information to get to the Shack. He knew of course that getting there was dangerous only once every month, during the full moon, but he would never allow his friends to see the place where he transformed. Only bringing the image in his mind made him shiver…he didn't want his friends to witness the horrendous sight of the room where he transformed.

"_We promise we won't get in there unless you give us permission," the three boys had said to Remus_, remembered Sirius with a smirk. Technically, he wasn't betraying Remus. He had promised that _they_, the three boys together, would not approach the Shack, not that _he alone_ would not go._ I'm so clever_, he thought smugly as he reached to grab a long stick from the ground. _Now, all I have to do is get to the Willow and press that damned knob…_

As Sirius reached to the Willow, the tree, predictably, started slashing the air with its branches. He stood there for a moment, contemplating on how he should move. It really wasn't an easy task to just press the knob and get in the tunnel. Hesitantly, he took a step closer to the tree. Then another one and another one. He stretched his neck as much as he could and -­_there!_- he could see exactly where the knob was. He decided that the best way was to move fast and not think. So, he took a deep breath and moved as fast as he could, avoiding the branches. He pressed the knob and closed his eyes. The blow he was expecting never came. The branches had stopped in mid-air and the tree had frozen.

Before the tree came back to life, he stepped into the opening in front of him. He looked amazed around him at the tunnel. It was bigger than he had expected. Quite roomy for a secret passage. Behind him, a few seconds later, he heard the tree unfreezing and the pointless lashing of the branches.

He turned his attention back to the tunnel. He started walking fast, anxious to see what was waiting for him at the end. Soon enough though, Sirius got irritated._ Just how long is the damn thing?_ He wondered angrily. His question was answered a few minutes later as he, finally, reached a staircase. He started climbing up and once he had entered the Shack, he paused to catch his breath.

Slowly and very carefully he wondered into the wooden, 'haunted' building. Although it was dark, the windows were sealed from the inside, he could see the room he was in. It appeared to be a living room, although not a normal one.

When the boys had found out about Remus and his lycanthropy, they did a bit of a research before asking Remus himself about werewolves. Sirius knew how dangerous these creatures were, so he knew what to expect. The sight of the room he was in did not surprise him. The sofa, the chairs and the table were torn apart and the curtains laid on the floor in pieces.

What he had not expected to see, though, was what he was met with when he entered a room at the end of another set of stairs.

No matter how much you know, how much brave you are, one can never be prepared for the sight Sirius faced when he entered that room.

It must have been a bedroom once; a decent one, too. There was a double bed with two nightstands in each side. There also was a small desk with a chair, a wardrobe and two windows (sealed of course). But they were all broken and torn apart. And there was blood. Lots of it. The wardrobe was covered with blood splashes, the desk and chair too. The curtains were dotted with scarlet blotches. And the bed…blankets torn apart, pillows in pieces, feathers painted red now lying on the floor.

Sirius, mortified, walked into the room taking everything in open-mouthed. The smell, this metallic odour was filling his lungs. He had never smelled blood before and he found he didn't like it at all. His vision was a red blur and there was something else, something heavy in the atmosphere making him feel like he was suffocating. As he walked to the centre of the room he detected other smells, less strong than the scent of blood, just a bit more familiar: urine and sweat. And walking past the bed he heard it. Soft gasps as if someone was trying really hard to breath, but had no strength to do so.

Slowly, afraid of what this meant, he turned around and nearly gasped.

"Fucking hell, Remus!" he whispered, as he run to the almost naked boy lying beside the bed.

Sirius kneeled beside Remus and made to touch him, but hesitated. What if he hurt him more? Remus' body was covered in blood, sweat and deep cuts and he only wore a pair of trousers a size too big for him. They, too, were torn apart and he could see blood running from his thighs.

"Well, fuck," he muttered as he slipped a hand under the unconscious boy's neck and propped him up to a half-sitting position. He looked at the bed that was only a foot away and slid his hand under Remus' knees. With a quick, yet gentle, move, he lifted the other boy and placed him on the bed. It was easier than he had thought, being almost fourteen did not provide him with the necessary strength to lift someone else of the same age, but Remus was incredibly light and he thought that loosing so much blood had something to do with it. Had it been James in Remus' place, he doubted he could have lifted him as easily.

Sirius then, climbed on the bed beside Remus after making sure that his head was in a position that would make it easy for him to breath. He also tried to keep a good few inches between them in order to prevent himself from hurting his friend.

He stayed like that for some minutes, immobile, before he hesitantly reached out his hand and caressed Remus' arm softly.

"I promise you," he whispered bringing his head closer to Remus', "that we will help you. I know we can and we will."

Remus was breathing more softly now and didn't seem to make such a great effort to do so. Sirius was absentmindedly caressing his hand now, and when he realised what he was doing he stopped abruptly. He had the elegance to blush, when he remembered that he was alone and there was no way this could reach James' ears. As he resumed his task, he noticed that Remus shifted ever so slightly and, had he not been this close to him, he wouldn't have noticed at all.

"S-Sirius?" came Remus' voice that felt more like a breath or a soft sigh barely caressing the letters of his name.

"It's me, Remus. Don't talk. Sleep. I'll watch you," Sirius said and smiled, although his friend's eyes were still closed. After that, Remus' breath evened and didn't talk nor stir again. And his face, noted Sirius, didn't look so tense any more.

Sirius had almost fallen asleep, when he heard footsteps downstairs. His eyes snapped open and for a moment he looked terrified around him. _Who's coming?_ But as the steps brought their owner closer and closer, he mentally kicked himself for his stupidity._ Madame Pomfrey. Of course!_ Who else could have possibly been? He stepped out of the bed and grabbed the Cloak just in time to throw it over him before the nurse entered the room.

He watched her walking towards Remus and heard her muttering "…and you even made it into the bed…oh dear boy, you never cease to surprise me…" He stayed still on his spot and waited for her to take Remus and leave before he himself went back to the castle. He didn't want her or anyone else to know he had been here with Remus and he didn't risk exposing himself by climbing down the stairs.

So, he watched as she examined gently his friend with a look of concern and…_was that affection?_…on her face. Then she conjured a calliper for his hand and a stretcher. She levitated his body on it and, once she was sure that her patient was safely lying on top of the stretcher, she left the room with Remus hovering in front of her.

Walking back to the school, some minutes later, Sirius wondered how Remus would react when he would wake up later that day and remembered what happened, or would he? Remember Sirius being in the Shack that is. It's not like he was totally conscious, though, but still, he had said his name, hadn't he? This meant that he was conscious enough for a few seconds to…But Remus hadn't opened his eyes. And Sirius hadn't talked before Remus did. So how did he know it was Sirius lying next to him and not somebody else? Unfortunately he could only make wild guesses, at least until Remus was awake and they could visit him in the Hospital wing.

XxXxXxX

James was bored. It was not something unusual during lessons and especially that of History of Magic. But he usually had someone to entertain him. And that someone was currently snoring, quite loudly too, next to him. He kicked for the umpteenth time Sirius' chair, but nothing happened. Sirius had simply passed out. Had he not been snoring, James would have thought he had died.

"Peter," he said turning to his other side, "Peter!"

"Huh?" asked Pete looking around him a bit dazed. He was almost asleep too. "Whassit?"

"I'm bored!" James complained to his friend.

"Why don't you sleep? Just like everyone else?"

"I don't wanna sleep!" Honestly, classes without Sirius awake and Remus and Pete conscious were the worst thing ever. "Do you think Bins would mind, or even acknowledge me if I walked out of the class?…Pete?…Pete. Peter! Don't fall asleep!"

"What! Oh, sorry, I just…Oh why don't you bother Sirius?"

"Because it's like trying to open a conversation with a wall! It's like he's dead!" James whined and, to prove his point, he kicked, once again, Sirius' chair.

"Well, that's interesting…I wonder why he's so tired," whispered Peter.

"I don't know. I asked him during breakfast but he just said he hadn't slept very well. Do you think he's lying?" James asked Peter with dread in his eyes.

"I don't think so…Why would he?" Peter replied and James seemed to relax.

Finally, the class was over and Sirius was awake and sober enough to apologise to his friend for missing the opportunity to entertain him, as the clown he was, during such a torture. They headed to the Infirmary bickering loudly, while the other students headed to the Great Hall for lunch.

When they reached outside the Hospital, however, they stopped their play-fight immediately. James and Peter because they knew how angry the nurse could be if someone was shouting near her patients, and Sirius because he just remembered that this was not the first time he would be seeing Remus that day.

They stepped in and headed straight to the back room, which was kept especially for Remus. As they reached it Madame Pomfrey came out and smiled to them.

"He just woke up. Don't stay to long, though. He needs to rest…and try to keep it quiet."

"Alright, Ma'am," James smiled back, but as soon as she left he turned exasperated to his friends, "Every time. Every single time we come, she says the same thing! I don't think I can stand hearing it any more!"

Remus was sitting on his bed waiting for his friends. He had heard them talking to the nurse and he was sitting there waiting. The door opened and the three boys came in; James looking a bit desperate, Peter smiling and Sirius looking at him in a weird way. He really couldn't read his expression.

"How are you, Moony?" asked both James and Peter in unison.

"Fine. Better than last time," he smiled in a sad way, "I haven't broken anything, just strained my arm."

Sirius swallowed. _Better?_ He thought, as the mental image of Remus lying helpless on the floor floated in his mind. _That was better? Then how is he when it's worse?_

"Sirius, are you okay?" Remus asked, noticing his friend's expression, "What's wrong with him?" he asked James.

"Says he didn't sleep well. Snored throughout Binns' class," James informed him, glaring at Sirius, "It's been a torture Remus. Torture, I tell you!"

They chatted for a while before James' stomach gave a rumble and they decided it was time to eat. As they made to leave, though, Remus asked Sirius to stay behind in order to ask him a favour. The other two boys didn't pay much attention and told them they'd wait out but to hurry because they were hungry.

"Sirius…" begun Remus once the door was closed, "um…did-did you come this morning…I know this might sound crazy, but, well, I think that…you see I have this feeling that you were this morning, well, in the Shack…" Remus knew he had probably imagined it, that there was no way Sirius could've been there, but he had to ask, just to be sure.

"Well, I-you see…hmm…I know we promised not to come, but, well, don't be angry, okay? I was there this morning," Sirius said in a steady voice, or so he would have liked it to be.

Remus took a moment to process this information. So, Sirius _had_ been there. Sirius had seen the place, he had seen the blood and the mess and he had seen _him_…the mess, the blood…_Oh God_…

The silence was stretching between them and it became quite awkward, to tell the truth.

Finally, Sirius, after what seemed like eons, decided to speak.

"How did you know? That it was me, I mean."

Remus blushed at the question, but answered, "You talked to me, you idiot."

"No. You said my name before I talked to you," Sirius answered back, narrowing his eyes, watching the quite amusing process of Remus' cheeks turning scarlet.

"I-Well, I kinda, hmm…smelled you…" Remus said in an impossibly low voice.

"You-what?" Sirius asked him, genuinely surprised.

"It's not something I'm really proud of," Remus began to explain, blushing furiously, "but right before and right after my transformations, my senses are closer to the wolf's because, I guess, it's closer to the surface. So, I just smelled you and I knew it was you…" he trailed off.

"Wow, I didn't know that could happen," Sirius was surprised to find out something new about werewolves. But he didn't understand why Remus was feeling so uncomfortable. So, he asked him.

"Well, it's just that, I know this is a silly thought, but I kinda feel more like an animal that way…It's not supposed to be normal, so…um, yeah."

"Being a werewolf isn't normal, either, you know. But this is so cool! No, really," Sirius assured his friend when Remus looked at him confused, "it really is cool. I think it's a shame you can't do that kind of stuff the rest of the month."

But before Remus could answer, a knock on the door interrupted them and James announced, quite irritated, that he couldn't wait much longer, he had to eat _now_.

"I guess I should be going, Moony. Someone of us will drop by this evening to bring you your homework," Sirius said and turned to leave, but he stopped suddenly as if he had just remembered something. He turned to face Remus again and with a smile he asked him, "What do I smell like?"

"Mostly like cinnamon," Remus said and as Sirius turned to leave again he called him one last time. "Thanks," he said, "for coming to the Shack…I think it calmed me."

"Anytime, Remus!" and with that he joined his other two friends and headed for lunch.

XxXxXxX

_**Hogwarts, February 1974**_

James had just earned himself a detention. And he was smiling nevertheless. He was grinning from ear to ear, like he was ready for a toothpaste commercial.

McGonagall was not really bothered by this reaction. She was used to this reaction. She was used to these boys' getting into trouble and never, well, _almost_ never, complaining about their detentions. What did bother her was that they never, ever paid any attention to her class, but they managed to have top grades.

"What made you scream like that, James? You really scared me!" Remus whispered to his grinning-like-an-idiot friend.

James slowly turned his face towards Remus and, his expression never changing, said, "I can't tell you."

As soon as the class was over, Remus got up and announced to James steadily, "Whatever it is, I want nothing to do with it."

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked him confused.

"He's got that _look_, Peter!" Sirius told him, excitedly, "You know, the I-have-found-a-way-to-cause-trouble look!"

"Oh! Okay…So, what is it?" Peter asked James.

"I'm not telling you," James said and continued grinning like an idiot.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm going to the Library, I need to finish my Potions essay." And with that he made his way to the library.

"Why aren't you telling us, mate? This is not fair!" Sirius whined, ever the one to support James' insane ideas.

"Well, I can tell you now!" he said as he dragged them in an empty classroom, "It's something Remus won't approve of and I don't want him to know…just yet."

"Oookay…" Sirius said, sitting on a desk, "What brilliant idea has come to your poor little brain?"

"Let me explain myself and note how I choose to ignore your insult. Today's lesson in Transfiguration was rather interesting, don't you think? Pretty amazing I'd say!"

"You think so?" Sirius asked him puzzled, "Well, I must admit it was very interesting watching dear old Minerva turning into a pussy cat and then into a human again, but apart from that it was very close to boring," he informed the other two boys. Peter was trying really hard to remember what exactly they had learned during this lesson.

"I think you're quite wrong!" James insisted.

"James, honestly! If you brought us here to talk about classes, tell me now so I can leave!" Sirius said a bit annoyed.

"Well, do you remember how we said we would like to help Remus with his furry little problem, but he was negative about it? Do you remember why?" James asked them, as he would have asked a five-year old how much 2 2 was. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yes, he said it was dangerous, coz werewolves kill humans!" Peter answered, just like the five-year old would have answered 4.

"Well, I have the solution!" declared proudly James.

"You're not saying…you're not suggesting that…Merlin's pants, James! You're a genius!" Sirius shouted excited as he hopped off the desk and hugged James. "That is brilliant!"

"I knew you'd love it! Remus will thank us if we succeed!"

"Okay, guys, I'm not following…please someone explain?" whined Peter.

"Pete, today we learned about the animagi, you know, about wizards who turn into animals," began James, a bit exasperated, "and Remus had said that werewolves are dangerous only to humans…So, we are going to become animagi!"

"You're joking!"

"No, Pete, we're not! It will be so much fun!" Sirius exclaimed enthusiastically, "we will be able to turn into animals at will! This is so amazing!" he stated once again and then started hopping around in what he presumed to be a happy-dance.

"But-but guys…how are we gonna do this? It's really difficult! And dangerous! What if something goes wrong? I don't think I can do something like that!" Peter said looking with wide eyes from James to Sirius.

"Don't be a chicken and a spoilsport, Pete!" complained James, "It'll be fun! And we will help you! Come on, let's go to dinner, we can talk about it later. We have to organise this thing!"

"We should call it 'Project animagi'"

"How original, Sirius," James said, rolling his eyes as his best mate continued his little happy-dance.

"I don't care," beamed Sirius, "that's what we're calling it!"

XxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N:** Care to make me happy by reviewing??


	9. How to deceive a Professor

**A/N:** Hello dear readers! I know I'm terribly late and I could find a million excuses, some of them would actually be true, but I don't think there's a point to do so…As always I have to say a big **thank you!!** to **Vikertee**, my wonderful beta!! Anyways, here's chapter 9, I hope you'll like it!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, please don't sue me. I'm just using Mrs Rowling's wonderful characters!

XxXxXxXxXxX

9. HOW TO DECEIVE A PROFESSOR

**_Hogwarts, February 1974_**

No._ No_. She refused to believe it. It simply wasn't possible. It _couldn't_ be possible. She was tired and maybe she was wrong. This was impossible. It was a hallucination, a delusion. It was just a trick of her mind because she hadn't slept very well the previous night. She _knew_ she was wrong. He would never do _that_. She knew _him_.

Lily pushed the heavy doors of the main entrance and run down the stairs, fighting back the tears that burned at the edge of her eyes. No, she would not cry. She would not cry because all this was just a mistake. It had been a stupid little mistake.

She didn't realise it when the tears finally run down on her cheeks. She didn't realise she had reached the lake until she found herself flopping down under a tree right next to the shore of the lake. And she didn't realise it when she started sobbing as the memory of Severus in that dark corridor came back to her mind.

Lily had just finished breakfast and was heading towards the Library. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather, if a bit cold, for a visit to Hogsmead. She had arranged to meet with her friends outside the Great Hall right after she had returned some books to the Library. They would spend the day in the wizarding village and come back at the castle right in time for dinner.

_She was walking fast, as she didn't want to be late, carrying the books in her hands. As she passed a dark corridor, just before the last corner before the entrance to the Library, she heard it. A soft, yet quite clear gasp, as if someone was in pain, and low laughter. Low, cruel laughter._

_She knew that it was not a good idea and that she would regret it later, but she just _had_ to see what was going on. What if someone was hurt or being bullied? So, very carefully, she peered around the corner and looked at that dark corridor. Lily nearly dropped her books in surprise as she saw that three Slytherin boys had cornered a fifth year Ravenclaw and were pointing their wands to him. And one of the Slytherin boys was Severus._

"_Don't you dare talk about things you can't even imagine!" said the biggest of the three Slytherins. Lily recognised him as a forth year named Avery. The other one was a boy from their year named Mulciber. Why was Severus hanging around with those guys?_

"_Fuck off! Go practise your Dark Magic somewhere else! Once this reaches Dumbledore's ears…" the boy from Ravenclaw tried to retort, but he found a wand pressed roughly against his throat. It was Severus' wand._

"_What? What is he going to do? I'll tell you what he'll do," Sev said a bit angry, "he'll do nothing, because you're not gonna talk to anyone…Mudblood!"_

_Lily heard nothing more after that last word. She knew nothing but that word coming out of _his_ mouth in such a casual way…as if he was used to saying it regularly. She turned around and walked away, the Library books forgotten in her hands. She was walking mechanically, not knowing exactly where she was heading to, as her brain tried to process the information._

She knew that word. Of course she knew it. She had been called that once last year and her friend Eleyn had explained to her what it meant. What she didn't know was why Severus would say it.

As she sat under the tree by the lake, she tried to calm herself down, reasoning Severus' actions. She stopped sobbing and cleared her tearful eyes with the back of her hands. She knew that it was these boys' fault. They were awful and were a bad influence for Severus. She knew him almost four years now and he was her best friend. He would never do something to hurt her, she knew that much. Maybe that Ravenclaw boy had done something really mean or nasty and Severus was angry with him and the word just slipped out. Deep down, she knew that there was no excuse, but she decided that there was no point thinking about it right now. She would talk to him later that day, probably after Hogsmead, and ask him about his friends.

Feeling a bit better once she had decided that she would talk to Sev, Lily got up, smiled at herself and walked back to the castle. She couldn't stay sad or angry for long since she was a very positive person and believed in the best of people. Maybe with the exception of only a few people. Maybe Black and Potter didn't not have a good side at all, and she was more than willing to accept that. And of course there were those Slytherins who really practised Dark Magic. But Severus was different. He was nice and cared for her. Sure, sometimes he was bitter and sarcastic but she knew that this was his family situation's fault. He was a good person and it's not like he said that word to _her_…

XxXxXxX

"Um, Professor, could we ask you something?" McGonnagall looked up from her parchment and watched as James Potter and Sirius Black stood there in front of her desk, both of them looking very serious.

"Does it have anything to do with my class, Mr Potter?" she asked, putting down her quill.

"Yes, of course. It's all about transfiguration!" Sirius informed her at once.

"I see," she said, examining them cautiously, "go ahead then and ask." She didn't really believe that their intentions were innocent, but she was curious as to what they were about to ask.

"You see, we were studying the other day…"

"…at the Library, that is…"

"…and we were wondering about how easily someone can transfigure the human body…"

"There's the Polyjuice Potion, but how about transfiguring it into a thing…"

"…or an animal?"

"I don't see your point, Mr Potter and Mr Black. There are ways of transfiguring the human body, but why would you be so interested in it?"

"Um, nothing, simple curiosity," Sirius replied, putting on his sweetest smile.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Mr Black. You should know that."

"Well, thank Merlin we're not cats then!" James said.

McGonnagall raised one eyebrow at him and her look clearly said 'don't try to be smart with me'. James laughed nervously and proceeded to ask the question to which they desperately needed a positive answer.

"So, we were wondering whether you could give us permission to look to the restricted area of the Library."

The Transfiguration teacher was slightly taken aback, but her characteristics, as she opened her mouth to respond, clearly spoke of a negative answer.

"Of course," Sirius hurried to add, "we are going to write an essay for you, describing what we found."

"We are?" James asked puzzled, but started nodding enthusiastically once Sirius stepped on his foot.

"As tempting as that may sound, volunteering to write an extra essay for my class, I must refuse. There are dangerous books in the restricted section, Mr Black, and I'm afraid I don't trust you enough to go there. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish what I was writing, in order to join the rest of the staff for lunch. You should also go to the Great Hall."

Sirius and James knew better than to stay there and try to argue with her; it would only make them look more suspicious. So they thanked her for her time and left the classroom, in order to join Remus and Peter, as the latter was keeping the former company, so as to not raise any suspicions.

"Sometimes I think that our reputation is not good…" Sirius said sceptically.

"Yeah, I know. We should have expected McGonnagall to refuse. So, who are we going to ask now? Flitwick or Brown? They're both quite naïve…we could easily persuade them."

"Hmm, I don't know, James. Brown is quite unpredictable. However, if we cause some trouble during Charms, and I mean serious trouble…no pun intended," Sirius added quickly once he saw James' exasperate expression, "then Flitwick would be distracted and he would agree more easily to sign something for us."

"That sounds like a plan to me! Okay, we have Charms right after lunch. We should be quick, coz we don't wanna be late for Potions, that would raise suspicions. So, what are we going to do? Old, classic dungbombs?"

"Nah, don't forget that we are going to be in Charms. Flitwick will be able to deal with something like that in a blink of an eye. We need something that will probably upset him…"

"Okay, I've got an idea!" James said finally and explained his plan quickly to Sirius, because they had almost reach the entrance to the Great Hall.

XxXxXxX

"I didn't expect _this _to happen!" Remus said, still a bit wide-eyed, as the four boys walked towards their Potions class. "I mean there has to be a logical explanation for this, how could…"

"Drop it, Remus. Weird things happen from time to time…even in Flitwick's class," Sirius said, throwing a quick glance at James who was walking behind them, fuming.

"I can't just drop it! I mean this was completely ridiculous! How can someone be hurt by his own spell? Are you sure you had nothing to do with this?" he asked them for the third time after they had left the class.

Sirius nodded absentmindedly and sighed heavily. James' plan had been good. Since they were sharing this lesson with Hufflpuffs, the only thing they had to do was to take advantage of their naivety. They had carefully used an enchanted mirror to make a spell that some Hufflpuff student had tried to cast on a cushion return to his caster. Naturally, since they were practicing with spells that could only be broken by the caster, the student would panic and while Flitwick would try to calm the student down, James and Sirius would ask the Professor to sign the little piece of paper that would grant them access to the books they wanted. Meanwhile, Peter would make sure that Remus wasn't paying any attention to the scene.

Yes, it was an excellent plan all in all. But, and there were always big, awful _but_s, they hadn't counted on the reaction of the poor student. Edward Johnson, their target, had panicked a bit more than expected and started sending jinxes in all kinds of directions. Two of them had hit Flitwick and as a result, the Professor had cast a very powerful Protego charm around him, making it impossible for anyone to go near him. He had then dismissed the class and kept back Edward in order to calm him down and make him lift the spell he had unintentionally cast on himself. And that's how they had found themselves walking to the Potions class this early.

"I bet Slughorn will make us tell with every detail what happened in Charms…" Peter started saying.

"Hey!" James suddenly said, "How about Slughorn?"

"How about Slughorn, what?" Remus asked him narrowing his eyes. There was definitely something _off_ with the way James avoided to pay any attention to Remus' question.

"Well," Sirius begun, "I thought about and although he likes us a lot, I don't thing he's going to let us get out with it easily…"

"Okay, I know I am missing something. What's going on?" Remus asked again, this time a bit more aggressively.

"How about bribing him?" Peter suggest suddenly, ignoring Remus completely.

"No, no…unless we just suck him up…" James said thoughtfully, "I'll figure something out before the end of class"

Remus didn't speak to them at all during Potions and although he was terrible at potions, he considered his pride far more important than to ask for the boys' help. Sirius felt a bit guilty for ignoring him like that, but Remus' silence suited their purpose better right now.

Once the class was over, the four boys started packing their stuff as quickly as possible since it was time for dinner and they were all starving. James was surprisingly the one to put all of his things in his bag first and stood silently watching to the general direction of Slughorn. Suddenly a flash of red walked past him and an idea formed in his mind.

"Hey, Sirius!" he called to his best friend, "Slughorn really likes Evans, huh? And she is rather good at potions, isn't she?"

"Um, I guess…why do you ask? And what's Evans got to do with anything?"

"Just watch…" he replied mysteriously and went to their Professor's desk.

"…hahaha, I was sure you might say something like that, sir!" Lily Evans giggled.

"I'm sure you were! So, how could I help you, Miss Evans?" Slughorn asked her with a smile. James almost vomited in his mouth…if he ever caught Slughorn smiling at him like that he would commit suicide. However, he approached them carefully and listened to what Lily had to say, ready to jump into the conversation.

"Well, you see, I was wondering, how come certain ingredients in potions can be used both for healing potions and poisons? Isn't that a little bit…unorthodox?"

"That is because the ingredients interact differently one with another."

"So, if we could use magic to seal one ingredient's essence and add an other one in a poison, couldn't we neutralise it?" Lily asked excitedly.

"You have just impressed me even more, Lily! Of course what you're talking about is highly advanced potions-making and you're still only in third year, you haven't learned enough to really understand…"

"Yes, but sir!" James cut him in, "I must admit that what my classmate, Ev-Lily just said, has been bothering me too…you surely are not going to leave us just with the same-old 'you're too young to understand'?"

"What are you talking about, Potter? When have you-" but James didn't let Lily finish what she wanted to say and he continued.

"What about giving us the chance to discover what we want to know by ourselves?" he suggested.

"My dear boy, if you're so interested in potions then go ahead and search for yourselves! I'll be right here if you need to ask any questions!"

"But I never said that I-" and Lily was yet again interrupted by James.

"That is great, sir! However, since you said that this is about advanced potions-making, what if we need to look at the restricted section of the Library?" James asked as innocently as possible.

"What?! The restr-?" Lily begun, finally having a vague idea what James was here for.

"I'm sure," James proceeded to say, once he saw Slughorn's doubtful face, "that Lily will make sure nothing gets out of control."

"Well, I guess if that's the case, then here's a paper with my signature to take it to Madame Pince. I'll be expecting news of what you have found. Now, off you go!"

"Thank you very much, sir!" James said, and before Lily could protest, he took her by her arm and dragged her out of the classroom.

"What exactly do you think you're doing? I'm going right back to Slughorn to tell him what you just said and did was all an awful act!" Lily half shouted angrily.

"Then you'll have to admit to him that you lied, even if it was indirectly. Don't worry, Evans, I'll make sure Slughorn finds out about our 'progress'! See ya!" he said and with a wink he ran to his friends who were watching him curiously. He didn't say anything though, because Remus wouldn't approve of a visit to the restricted area of the Library.

Once they sat down at the Gryffindor table and started eating, James took the paper with Slughorn's signature and waved it in front of Sirius, making sure that only Peter, and not Remus, could see it and mouthed triumphantly the words 'I got it'.

XxXxXxXxX

**_Hogwarts, April 26th 1974_**

"Prewett for Emerson, he dodges the Bludger and heads straight for the goal hoops…he's ready to score and-NO! Emmott saves the day for Ravenclaw as he manages to catch the Quaffle. Now Ravenclaw has the Quaffle and Stone passes it to MacFarland and-OUCH! that must have hurt, Jameson, Gryffindor's Beater just send a Bludger right on Leach's back…"

It was the last week of April and the perfect day for a Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw. If Gryffindor managed to beat them, then they would head straight for the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup. Jameson, Gryffindor's Captain had advised James to catch the Snitch as fast as possible as they were already more than 40 points ahead of Ravenclaw in the House Cup. The game had started half an hour ago and Gryffindor was heading with 50 to 30.

James scanned the air and tried his best not to listen to the commentary, because he would be tempted to stop in mid-air and watch the game. They had a good team but nothing special. Baker was a bit nervous for a Chaser and he hoped he would be able to be the one to replace her next year when she would have graduated. The Beaters were strong but they could be faster…and if only he was Captain…He had some very good strategies in mind and couldn't wait when the day would come that he could try them with _his_ team.

"Roberts saves yet again for Gryffindor and she passes the Quaffle to Baker, Green tries to steal it but she has to dive to avoid a Bludger and now Prewett has the Quaffle and Emmott is…FOUL!!" shouted Daniel Richardson, a fourth year Hufflepuff who had wisely been chosen for the commentary as he was more objective than others would have been, "Emerson shoots-and IT'S IN!-it's 60 to 40 for Gryffindor…"

James cheered excitedly along with the rest Gryffindors and, as he turned his broom to a different direction, he saw it! The Golden Snitch flying near the Gryffindor's goal hoops. He leaned forward and flew as fast as he could.

"And Potter dives, could he have seen the Snitch or is it just a-No! He has seen the Snitch and now Leach is speeding up, reaching for the Snitch from a different direction and every one has stopped to watch them, and Potter gets closer and-GOAL for Gryffindor as Fabian Prewett took advantage of the distracted Ravenclaw Keeper-and POTTER GOT THE SNITCH, the game ends! It's 220 to 40, what a magnificent game and now it's almost impossible for anyone to beat Gryffindor, at least to the House Cup!"

James hopped off his broom and was immediately surrounded by Gryffindors who were cheering and shouting and congratulating him. Sirius managed to fight his way through the crowd while having a death grip on Remus' forearm.

"You did it, mate!!" he shouted as he hugged James tightly, "Although I lost three galleons…"

"Sirius and I made a bet and he supported that you would win with less than 200 points!" beamed Remus who proceeded to hug James, too. "I think we lost Peter somewhere in the crowd…" he commented to no one specifically.

Later that afternoon, the Gryffindors were in the common room having a huge party celebrating their amazing victory.

"I should've really asked that blessed house-elf's name who took me to the kitchens last year…Then I could thank it properly for presenting us with such a an amazing gift…" James said after his eighth pumpkin pasty and fifth mince pie.

"This feels great…" Sirius said dreamily.

"What? Eating?" asked Remus.

"That, too. I was basically talking about James saving Gryffindor…You know with all the pranks and the detentions we get, well, let's say that maybe we lose a bit too many points for Gryffindor…BUT! James is here to win all these points back with a nice Quidditch match…I owe you, mate!" Sirius said and winked at James and the latter burst out laughing.

"I think I'm going to bed now," Remus announced a little while later, "it was a very exciting day and I'm awfully tired…"

"From now? It's only a quarter to nine!" James whined.

"The moon's in two days," Sirius whispered to his best friend, "besides, that way we'll be able to talk about the you-know-which project!" and with that said, he turned to Remus and wished him goodnight.

"I think that if we keep going at that pace, we won't be able to start before next year…" James said once Remus had left.

"Yeah," Peter agreed, "the translations are taking as way too long. Why couldn't they have edited these books so that they could match this century's language?"

"I don't know, probably because they wanted to make sure that minors wouldn't be able to use them…Well, too bad for them because we are not any ordinary minors!" Sirius said. "You know what I've been thinking? When we started calling Remus 'Moony', we said that we would use nicknames for ourselves. I thought that we could use the animal we will turn into as the inspiration of the nickname!"

"_If_ we manage to turn into animals…" Peter added a bit gloomily.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Pete! Stop being so pessimistic…" Sirius told him.

"Actually you know what? This is a great idea!" James said, sitting up suddenly. "If you could chose, in what animal would you like to turn into?" he asked them.

"I dunno, something big, I guess…to match Moony's size, you know. Maybe a big wolf or a bear. Or a panther! Yeah…I'd like to be a panther!" Sirius replied a bit too enthusiastically.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it…" Peter said hesitantly, "um, maybe a horse…I like horses, they're strong and run really fast, but I guess that doesn't apply to me, hahaha…" Peter laughed embarrassed and the other two boys joined him. "What about you, James?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" the others looked at him curiously and Sirius raised an elegant brow, "Of course I'd like to be a lion!"

"_Of course_!" Sirius mimicked him, "our brave Gryffindor boy would be nothing else than a brave and wild _lion_…Actually you're so full of…Gryffindor-ness, that I wouldn't be surprised if you turned into a lion!"

"Yeah! And my nickname will be Lionheart!" James said, his nose stuck on the ceiling.

"How original…" Sirius said sarcastically, and then turning to Peter he added, "I told you I'm not letting him pick my nickname!"

"What?! That's not fair!! We kept _your_ idea for Remus's nickname, now you should let me choose one for you!" James almost shouted.

"You get to chose Pete's nickname if you want…As far as mine is concerned, I'll ask Remus to help me find something decent!" Sirius said firmly, "Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to bed…this party is not that interesting, after all…we have no Firewhiskey or Butterbeer…Honestly now, we need to find a way to sneak into Hogsmead!"

"Firewhiskey? Isn't that a bit too strong for us…I thought that minors are not allowed to buy Firewhiskey…" Peter questioned him.

"No, we're not allowed to drink Firewhiskey, but we are not allowed to make illegal potions either, and we don't seem to care since we're becoming animagi. Sirius, however," James continued, "is right. We need to find a way to sneak into Hogsmead…Imagine all the things we could do…Zonko's, Honeydukes, butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks…"

"I bet there must be a secret passage or something, leading there. We can think about it later, now I want to go to bed…Are you guys coming?" Sirius asked the other two boys.

"Yeah, we're coming," James said and he got up and headed to the boys' dorms, closely followed by Peter.

XxXxXxX

_**Hogwarts, May 1974**_

_Shitshitshitshit…_ "Remus, faster!" Sirius shouted to his friend and started repeating the same mantra all over again…_shitshitshit, we're so screwed…_

Truth is, that this time they were really in trouble. If Filch caught them, he would definitely sent them to Dumbledore. And it was a shame really, because it had all been a brilliant of his and James of course. But somehow, it had all gone wrong and the prank they were supposed to play on Snivellus backfired and they managed to hurt Filch and his awful cat, Mrs Noris. Plus, they had destroyed a portrait. And now Filtch was chasing him and Remus, because Remus had tried to reverse the damage they had caused on the portrait using some spells, Merlin knows where he had learnt them, and the caretaker had thought that he was actually _causing_ the damage.

Remus tried to keep up with Sirius, but he really couldn't run as fast. Not only did he not have the stamina, but he had also eaten a bit too much during lunch and he thought that if they kept running for a while longer, his lunch would be meeting with the floor and perhaps his shoes. "Sirius…I-I," he panted, trying to find his voice, "I c-an't-exausted-too much lunch…"

"Okay, okay," Sirius said bringing himself to a halt, "I can still hear him coming," he whispered and looked around him gingerly, "I think we should hide somewhere."

"Alright, come here," Remus yanked Sirius' arm and dragged him towards a statue.

"It's not big enough to hide both of us!" Sirius protested, but he squeezed next to Remus nevertheless. "Where's James with his Cloak when we need him?"

Then, he took his wand out and pointed it to a door a few feet ahead of them and made it open and then shut loudly.

"Nice," Remus whispered, "now he'll run straight to that door!" No sooner had he finished his sentence than Filch appeared, running in a weird kind of way while carrying his cat. As Remus had predicted, he didn't pause to inspect the place there, rather he opened the door hastily and disappeared.

Both boys let out a sigh and relaxed against the wall. "That was close…" Remus finally said, "Next time remind me…hey, Sirius, what are you doing?"

Sirius was currently looking at the statue that had hidden them sceptically. Then he got up and started examining its head and its hump. "You know," he started saying, "this is a very ugly witch."

"What?"

Sirius didn't seem to mind Remus' confusion as he touched the statue's head with his wand, murmured something and then, when nothing happened he repeated this touching instead the hump. And to Remus' surprise it opened. Remus' jaw hit the floor.

"Okay," he said, after he had closed his mouth, "how _the hell_ did you do that?"

Sirius grinned widely at him and, instead of answering the question he asked Remus smugly, "Wanna see where it leads?" and without waiting for a response, knowing perfectly well that Remus would follow him, Sirius jumped in the passageway.

"I don't believe that, I don't believe _him…_" Remus muttered to himself before he too jumped into the passageway.

He landed on the floor after a couple of seconds, right next to Sirius. He got his wand out and murmured _Lumos_. He got up and turned to his friend, "Alright, explain. Now!"

"Well," Sirius begun unable to stop smiling from ear to ear, "when you squeezed me against that statue, I saw something that looked liked letters on the base of it. There were two words, one on each side. The letters were really, really small…I'm pretty much amazed by myself too for noticing them…Damn! I'm so clever…"

"Sirius! To the point! What were the two words?"

"Dissen and Dium. It's obvious that it's a spell split in two. So, I thought I should try to see what it did."

Remus didn't say anything. He was caught between remaining in silent awe and praising his friend, something that would definitely make his ego grow bigger, if possible. "That's unbelievable…" he said finally, "Where do you think it leads?"

"I don't know, but that's what we're going to find out right now!"

"What? No, Sirius, no! We have a class in less than twenty minutes and we can't afford to be late. The others are gonna look for us and-no!" Remus immediately said when Sirius opened his mouth to protest, "you can't use that mirror, coz James left it in his trunk today." Of course, he was referring to the birthday present Sirius had made to James: a two-way mirror they could communicate through. "We can come back later. We know where it is, it's not gonna disappear…Besides," Remus played his last card since he knew that none of the previous arguments would affect Sirius, "can you even imagine what James would do to us if he found that we explored a new secret passage without him?"

Sirius paled, although it was hard to tell in the dim light of their wands, and nodded, "Yeah, yeah…we should wait until midnight and come back with James. And Peter. We should probably bring the Cloak too. And I should talk to James about that mirror…I didn't give it to him to forget it all the way up to the dorm. It's for emergency situations like this one!" Remus couldn't help but roll his eyes at Sirius' dramatic speech.

So, the two boys climbed up through the witch's hump, made sure no one was around and dashed to their next class, making it just on time before the Professor entered the classroom. And Remus had to stop Sirius from shouting the exciting news to his best friend because, although he was a genius, sometimes he could also be incredibly stupid.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**A/N:** Here are the two teams:

Gryffindor: James Potter/Seeker, Albert Thomas and Andrew Jameson/Beaters, Fabian Prewett, Edmund Emerson and Brenda Baker/Chasers and Ebony Roberts/Keeper.

Ravenclaw: Karen Leach/Seeker, William Macmillan and Oliver Wilson/Beaters, Emily Stone, Alan MacFarland and Petrina Green/Chasers and Patrick Emmott/Keeper.

**A/N²:** I'm sorry but I really couldn't think of a name for Filtch's cat…So, let's just assume that he names all his cats 'Mrs Noris', because…um, because when he was a kid (imagine that!) he had a kitten named Mrs Noris and a spell accidentally hit her and since he's a Squib he couldn't heal his poor cat and now this is a trauma in his heart. So, he names all his cats after that very first kitten he once had…I know, I'm completely mental…Review, please?


End file.
